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THE  FLIGHT  OF 
MARIE   ANTOINETTE 


FROM   THE  FRENCH    OF 

G.    LENOTRE 

lY 

MRS.    RODOLPH   STAWELL 
WrM  ovtr  Fifty  Illustrations 


Philadelphia:  J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY 
London:   WILLIAM  HEINEMANN 

1906 


'^^im^m- 


Richard  Clay  and  Sons,  Limited, 

bread  street  hill,  e.g.,  and 

bungay,  suffolk. 


TO    MY    FRIEND 

L^ON-PIERRE   AUBEY. 


Very  affectionatdi/y 

G.  L. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I 

PAOX 
COUNT  AXEL  DE  FERSEN 1 

CHAPTER  II 

THE  PUOHT .22 

CHAPTER  III 

TH»  NIGHT  Of  THE  TWENTY-FIRST 57 

CHAPTER  IV 

FARIS  ON  THE  SAME  DAT 97 

CHAPTER  V 

THE  PURSUIT 118 

CHAPTER  VI 

THE  RETURN 145 

CHAPTER  VII 

THE  COMMISSIONERS  OF  THE  ASSEMBLY 165 

CHAPTER  Vni 

THE  END  OF  THE  JOURNEY 196 

CHAPTER  IX 

THE  CASE  OF  MONSIEUR  LEONARD 221 

CHAPTER  X 

PERB  SAUCE  . .    238 

vii 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XI 

PAOK 
GENERAL  RADET  251 

CHAPTER  XII 

THE  ADVENTURES  OF  DROUET ,    .    .  267 

CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  FATE  OF  FBRSEN 287 

CHAPTER  XIV 

VARENNES  AFTER  THE  DRAMA 301 

INDEJC    , ....     329 


Vlll 


LIST   OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 


Marie  Antoinette.     From  a  painting  by  Vig^  le  Brun  .       .     Frontispiece 

Count  Axel  de  Fersen To/ace  6 

Feraen's  House  in  the  Rue  Matignon 15 

Card  of  Admission  to  the  Queen's  Apartments 19 

Plans  of  the  ground-floor  and  first-floor  of  the  Palace  of  the  Tuileries 

in  1791 24 

Plan  of  the  approaches  to  the  Tuileries  in  1791 33 

Entrance  to  the  Court  of  the  Tuileries  in  1791  ....    To  face  38 

The  Barrier  of  St.  Martin  in  1791 „  38 

Franqois  Florent  de  Valory ,,  42 

Drouet „  42 

Notre-Dame-de-r^pine 48 

The  Royal  Berline To  face  50 

Posting-house  at  Pont-de-Somme-Vesie „  50 

Plan  of  Sainte-M6nehould  in  1791 59 

Posting-house  at  Sainte-M^nehould 61 

Doorway  of  the  Posting-house  at  Sainte-M6nehould       ....  63 

Posting-house  at  Orbeval To  face  66 

Posting-house  at  Clermout-en-Argonne »  ^ 

ix    . 


LIST  OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAaB 


Plan  of  Varennes  in  1791 72 

Guillaume Tofme    76 

H6td  du  Grand  Monarque  at  Varennes 80 

Rue  de  la  Basse  Com*  and  Sauce's  House  at  Varennes    ....      84 

Pr^fontaine's  House  at  Varennes To  face    86 

Bridge  over  the  Aire  at  Varennes ,,         86 

Sauce's  House 90 

Goguelat Toface    92 

Lane  of  La  V6rade  behind  Sauce's  House 94 

Grease-pot  from  the  old  Posting-house  at  Meaux 120 

Town-hall  at  ChMons-sur-Marne Toface  128 

The  Upper  Town  of  Varennes ,,128 

Room  in  Sauce's  House  where  the  Royal  Family  spent  the  night        .    138 
Pr6fontaine's  House,  and  the  Road  from  Varennes  to  Clermont   .       .    143 

Town-hall  at  Sainte-M^nehould 149 

M.  de  Dampierre's  Chateau  at  Hans Toface  150 

The  Porte  Saint-Croix  at  Ch^lons-sur-Mame    ....         ,,        150 

Scene  of  M.  de  Dampierre's  death 154 

The  Prefecture  at  Ch£ilons-sur-Marne 158 

Old  Intendant's  House  at  Chllons-sur-Mame 160 

Barnave ...     Toface  172 

Potion ,,182 

Posting-house  at  Dormans 184 

Farm  of  Le  Ch^ne-Fendu 186 

Posting-house  at  Port-^-Binson 191 

Old  Hdtel  du  Louvre  at  Dormans 194 

Dormans  from  the  Marne 1 97 

R^gnard  de  I'lsle's  House  at  Fert6-sous- Jouarre 202 

Bishop's  Palace  at  Meaux •        .       .    204 

Louis  XVI. 's  Room  in  the  Bishop's  Palace  at  Meaux      ....    206 
Marie  Antoinette.     From  a  portrait  by  Vig6e  le  Brun   .       .     Toface  212 

X 


LIST  OP  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGK 


Leonard To  fact  224 

Yard  of  the  Posting-house  at  Pont-de-Somme-Vesle       ....   226 

Sign  of  the  H6td  Chrand  Monarque 229 

Newspaper  showing  the  marks  of  Marat's  blood     .       .       .    To  face  234 

J.  B.  Sauce 239 

House  in  which  Sauce  died 249 

Etienne  Radet To  face  256 

Drouet'sSeal 272 

The  Aire  at  Varennes      .       .       .      •        .       .      •        •      .       .       .    305 
Tower  of  St.  Gengoult  and  Bras  d^Or  Inn  at  Varennes  ....    321 


XI 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


CHAPTER  I 

COUNT   AXEL   DE   FEBSEX 

The  name  and  mould  of  a  hero  of  romance,  regular  features, 
a  sensitive  mouth,  an  expression  half  tender  and  half  bold,  a 
slender  figure,  and  the  immense  advantage  of  belonging  to 
that  Scandinavian  race  whose  prestige  was  so  irresistible — 
such,  with  his  eighteen  years,^  was  the  equipment  with  which 
in  December,  1773,*  the  Comte  de  Fersen  made  his  first  ap- 
pearance in  Parisian  society.  For  three  years  he  had  been 
travelling  about  Europe  under  the  guidance  of  a  tutor, 
paying  successive  visits  of  some  length  to  Brunswick,  where 
he  had  studied  "  the  profession  of  arms  ^ ;  to  Turin,  which 
excelled  in  the  teaching  of  philosophy ;  and  to  Strasbourg, 
which  boasted  of  famous  schools  of  medicine,  gunnery,  and 
dancing. 

When  a  foreigner,  at  the  close  of  his  student  days,  came  to 
France  to  complete  his  education  and  acquire  the  manners  of 
the  great  world,  it  was  his  bounden  duty  to  submit  to  three 
onleals,  which  for  a  young  man  of  good  breeding  at  that  time 
took  the  place,  to  a  certain  extent,  of  our  trivial  and  mean- 
ingless Bachelors^  Degree.  His  first  care  was  to  be  presented 
to  the  King's  mistress,  at  that  time  Mme.  du  Barry,  who 
received  the  young  Swede  very  amiably;  next,  he  went  to 
Femey  to  pay  his  respects  to  M.  de  Voltaire,  who,  dressed  in  a 
ragged  scarlet  jacket  and  woollen  stockings  drawn  up  over  his 

>  Jean  Axel  de  Fersen  was  bom  on  the  4th  Sept.  1755.  His  father  was 
Field  Marshal  Fr^ddric  Axel  de  Fersen,  his  mother  was  the  Comtesse 
Hedviff  Delagardie.— Archives  of  the  War  Office. 

*  See  Ir€  Comte  de  Fersen  et  la  C<mr  de  France.  Extract  from  the  papers 
of  the  Grand  Marshal  Count  Jean  Axel  de  Fersen,  published  by  his  great- 
nephew  the  Baron  R.  M.  de  Klinckowstrom. 

1  B 


'f 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

small-clothes,  grimaced  and  moaned,  told  the  whole  history 
of  his  last  dose  of  medicine,  and  ended  by  producing  his 
habitual  guests — his  niece,  thirty  watchmakers,  and  a  Jesuit 
father.  Finally,  he  appeared  at  the  Opera  Ball.  This  last 
ordeal,  the  most  important  and  decisive  of  all,  was  for  Fersen 
an  occasion  of  triumph.  The  Dauphine,  Marie  Antoinette, 
who  was  present,  though  masked,  drew  him  out  for  nearly  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  without  his  suspecting  the  greatness  of  his 
good  fortune.  Satisfied  at  last  by  his  answers,  she  removed 
her  velvet  domino  and  revealed  her  identity;  whereupon 
a  great  sensation  followed ;  and  such  was  the  eagerness  of  the 
crowd  that  her  Highness  was  obliged  to  take  refuge  in  one  of 
the  boxes.  Fersen  went  home  at  three  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
dazzled,  fascinated,  entranced.  This  evening  was  the  turning- 
point  of  his  whole  life. 

He  saw  the  Princess  several  times  again,  in  her  own  apart- 
ments at  Versailles,  where  he  proved  himself  to  be  discreet 
and  prudent,  almost  timid.  She  treated  him  "extremely 
well.''  That  is  all  that  is  known,  and  there  is  no  authority 
for  supposing  anything  more.  But  it  is  impossible  to  avoid 
noticing  the  coincidence  of  two  dates.  On  the  10th  May, 
1774,  Louis  XV.  died  and  the  Dauphine  became  the  Queen, 
and  it  was  on  the  12th  that  Fersen  left  Paris  ^  on  the  spur  of 
the  moment,  as  though  someone  had  made  him  understand,  or 
he  had  seen  for  himself,  that  his  constant  attentions  would 
give  occasion  for  comment  among  the  ill-natured.  The 
Swedish  Ambassador,  the  Comte  de   Creutz,  seems  to  have 

^  He  stayed  for  a  time  in  London,  and  returned  to  Sweden  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  year  1775.  A  few  months  later  the  Duo  d'Ostrogothie,  brother 
of  Gustave  III,  fell  passionately  in  love  with  Fersen's  sister.  In  the  letters 
of  Gustave  III  to  the  Comtesse  de  Boufflers  are  the  following  words,  under 
the  date  of  Oct.  18,  1776  :  "My  brother,  the  Due  d'Ostrogothie,  has  been 
travelling  since  the  month  of  May.  ...  I  had  to  let  him  go,  to  get  over  an 
ardent  passion  with  which  the  fair  Fersen  has  inspired  him.  She  is  the 
daughter  of  the  famous  Comte  de  Fersen,  who  has  been  three  times 
Marshal  of  the  Diet,  and  I  must  admit  that  she  is  very  capable  of  inspiring 
passion :  for  she  has  not  only  an  extremely  pleasing  face,  but  also  every 
kind  of  charm,  as  well  as  a  keen  intellect." — Actes  de  VAcaddmie  Nationale 
de  Bordeaux.     3rd  Series.     60th  year,  1898. 

This  passion  was  destined  to  be  short-lived.  On  the  2nd  Oct.  1777  the 
Comtesse  de  Boufflers  answered  King  Gustave  :  "  M.  le  Due  d'Ostrogothie 
has  cured  himself  of  one  passion  by  another  ;  they  say  he  has  fallen  deeply 
in  love  at  Lyons  with  Mile,  de  Foil,  who  is  a  charming  person." 


COUNT  AXEL  DE  FERSEN 

known  the  true  motives  for  his  departure.  "  It  is  not  pos- 
sible,^ he  informs  Gustave  III,  «*to  behave  more  wisely  or 
discreetly  "  ;  and  one  may  detect  a  hint  to  the  same  effect  in 
the  correspondence  of  this  date  between  Mercy  and  Maria 
Theresa.  Mercy  speaks  of  the  new  sovereign's  fears  "of 
being  scolded  about  the  little  matters  connected  with  her 
occupations  and  amusements'';  and  the  Empress,  alluding 
to  the  sacrifices  forced  upon  her  daughter  by  her  new  duties, 
answers :  *'  I  have  no  doubt  that  her  light-hearted  days  are 
over ;  over  still  earlier  than  mine  were." 

Fersen's  absence  lasted  for  more  than  four  years.  When 
he  reappeared  at  Versailles  in  August,  1778,  he  was  received 
with  joy.  "The  Queen,  who  is  charming,"  he  writes,  "said 
when  she  saw  me,  '  Ah !  this  is  an  old  acquaintance.' "  A 
few  days  later  he  observes  :  "The  Queen,  who  is  the  prettiest 
and  most  lovable  princess  I  know,  has  been  good  enough  to 
inquire  often  about  me.  She  asked  Creutz  why  I  did  not 
come  to  her  Sunday  card-parties,  and  on  hearing  that  I  had 
gone  one  day  when  there  was  no  play,  she  made  me  a  kind  of 
apology."  In  liis  letters  to  his  father  this  is  the  favourite 
theme:  he  returns  to  it  a  few  days  later.  "The  Queen 
continues  to  show  me  kindness :  I  often  go  to  pay  my  court 
to  her  at  her  card-party,  and  every  time  she  speaks  a  few 
words  full  of  friendliness  to  me.  Someone  having  spoken  to 
her  of  my  Swedish  uniform,  she  showed  a  great  desire  to  see 
me  in  this  costume ;  I  am  to  go  on  Tuesday  dressed  in  this 
way,  not  to  the  Court,  but  to  the  Queen's  own  apartments. 
She  is  the  most  lovable  princess  I  know."  ^ 

And  yet  it  was  no  later  than  the  following  winter,  at  the 
very  moment  when  Fersen  was  declaring  that  "his  stay  in 
France  was  becoming  pleasanter  every  day,  and  that  Paris 
was  a  charming  place,"  that  he  decided  suddenly  on  a  renewed 
absence,  and  asked  leave  to  accompany  the  expedition  of 
French  troops  to  America.  The  Court  chattered  about  it 
for  a  week :  the  favour  with  which  the  handsome  Swede  was 
received  by  the  Queen  made  a  scandal  among  all  the  gossips 
of  Versailles ;  they  spoke  of  meetings,  of  glances  exchanged 

*  Le,  CanUe  de  Fersen  et  la  G(mr  de  FrancCj  Introduction,  pp.  xxxii  and 
xxxiii. 

3  B  2 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

in  default  of  conversation  during  the  informal  evenings  at 

Trianon.      "The   Queen    had   been    seen,*"    they   declared, 

"  while  singing  to  the  piano  those  passionate  couplets  from 

the  opera  Dido — 

*  Ah!  que  jefus  Men  inapir^e 
Quandje  vous  requs  dans  ma  cour^ 

to  catch  Fersen''s  eye  with  ill-concealed  emotion.*"  ^  Many 
people  consider  this  gossip  to  be  calumny;  but  one  cannot 
ignore  the  authority  of  a  very  plainly-expressed  letter  from 
the  Comte  de  Creutz  to  Gustave  III,  the  original  of  which 
is  preserved  among  the  King's  private  papers  in  the  Archives 
of  Upsal. 

"I  must  tell  your  Majesty  in  confidence  that  the  young 
Comte  de  Fersen  has  been  so  much  in  favour  with  the  Queen 
that  it  has  given  offence  to  several  people.  I  confess  that  I 
cannot  help  believing  that  she  was  attracted  by  him  :  I  saw 
symptoms  of  this  too  unmistakable  to  leave  any  doubt.  The 
behaviour  of  the  young  Comte  de  Fersen  on  this  occasion  was 
admirable  in  its  modesty  and  reserve  and,  above  all,  in  his 
determination  to  go  to  America.  By  absenting  himself  he 
warded  off  the  danger ;  but  it  required  resolution  beyond  his 
years  to  withstand  this  temptation.  The  Queen  could  not 
take  her  eyes  off  him  during  the  last  days,  and  as  they  looked 
at  him  they  were  full  of  tears.  I  implore  your  Majesty  to 
share  this  secret  with  no  one  but  Senator  Fersen.  As  soon 
as  the  departure  of  the  Count  was  made  public  all  the 
favourites  were  delighted  about  it.  The  Duchesse  de  Fitz- 
James  said  to  him :  '  What^  Monsieur !  you  are  forsaking 
your  conquest  in  this  way  ? '  'If  I  had  made  one  I  should  not 
forsake  her,''  he  answered.  '  /  am  going  away  free,  and, 
unhappily,  without  leaving  any  regrets  behind  me^  Your 
Majesty  will  admit  that  this  answer  was  wise  and  prudent 
beyond  his  years."" 

No  doubt :  but  that  unhappily  is  more  significant  than  it 
looks :  it  is  the  public  avowal  of  Fersen's  love  for  the  Queen 
of  France.  It  is  a  pretty  scene,  and  there  is  nothing  in  it 
with  which  to  find  fault  except  the  inexpressible  assurance 

^  See  Geoff  oy,  Gustave  III  et  la  Cour  de  France. 
4 


COUNT  AXEL  DE  FERSEN 

of  the  Duchesse  de  FitzJames,  and  the  insolent  satisfaction 
that  she  obviously  feels  in  meddling  with  the  royal  idyll. 

Fersen  returned  from  America  in  the  month  of  June,  1783, 
just  in  time  to  receive  an  order  to  accompany  his  King, 
Gustave  III,  on  the  journey  he  was  undertaking  to  Grermany, 
Italy,  and  France.  The  favour  in  which  the  young  officer 
was  held  was  thereby  increased.  As  he  had  no  fortune, 
Louis  XVI  appointed  him  colonel  proprietaire  ^  of  the  Royal 
Swedish  Regiment,  granting  him  8,000  livres  in  the  form  of 
pay,  with  an  additional  income  of  12,000  livres,  and  a  brevet 
de  reteniie  for  100,000  livres.^  He  was  at  the  same  time  a 
lieutenant-colonel  on  active  service  in  the  light  horse  of  the 
King  of  Sweden,  which  obliged  him  to  divide  the  year 
between  the  two  countries.  But  he  had  more  ties  in  Paris 
than  in  Stockholm ;  he  knew  everyone  in  the  place.  When 
the  women  discussed  him  among  themselves  they  were 
agreed  on  one  point — that  he  had  aged  very  much  and  that 
he  was  no  longer  handsome,  a  certain  sign  that  each  of  them 
individually   considered    his    appearance    to    be   extremely 

»  2Ut  September  1783.  "  Comte  de  Fersen  (Axel),  born  Sept.  4th,  1755  ; 
was  a  captain  in  the  service  of  Sweden ;  rank  of  colonel,  June  20th,  1780. 

Lieut. -Colonel  {Mestre  de  Camp  en  second)  of  the  Royal  Deux  Fonts 
Regiment,  27th  Jan.,  1782. 

Colonel  {Mestre  de  Camp  proprUtaire)oi  the  same  21st  Sept.,  1783. 

1781.     Distinguished  himself  at  the  siege  of  York  town. 

1785.  A  very  zealous,  active,  and  resolute  officer,  who  busies  himself 
untiringly  in  the  instruction  of  the  officers. 

30th  Juno,  1784.  Granted  extra  pay  to  the  amount  of  8,000  francs  as 
Mestre  de  Camp  proprietaire. 

30th  June,  1786.  Cross  of  Military  Merit  (Order  of  St.  Louis  for 
Protestants). 

30th  June,  1784.  The  King  grants  a  pension  of  20,000  livres  to  M.  le 
Comte  de  Fersen,  Colonel  of  the  Royal  Swedish  Regiment. 

N.B.  This  pension  of  20,000  livres  will  include  the  8,000  already  granted 
to  this  officer.  ,    ^ 

30th  June,  1784.  Royal  Swedish  Regiment.  M.  le  Comte  de  Fersen  was 
appointed  Colonel  of  this  regiment  on  the  21st  Sept.,  1783,  on  the  resigna- 
tion of  M.  le  Comte  de  Sparre,  Brigadier  General,  and  that  of  the  Comte 
Ernest  de  Sparre,  who  had  been  promised  the  colonelcy  of  this  regiment. 

The  Comte  de  Fersen  gave  the  sum  of  100,000  livres  to  the  Comte 
Alexandre  de  Sparre,  Colonel.  r      - . 

His  Majesty  grants  the  Comte  de  Fersen  a  brevet  de  retenue  for  the 
said  sum  of  100,000  livres,  to  secure  his  being  reimbursed  by  any  officer  who 
should  happen  to  be  appointed  colonel  of  the  said  regiment.  1  he  Comte  de 
Fersen  has  no  fortune."— Archives  of  the  War  Office. 

a  (The  word  lim-e,  as  used  throughout  this  book,  denotes  an  obsolete  com 
of  nearly  the  same  value  as  a  ivtinc.— Translator's  Note.) 

5 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

attractive.  He  gave  rise  to  much  astonishment  by  refusing 
the  wealthiest  heiresses,  one  after  another:  first  a  Swede, 
Mile,  de  Leigel,  who  married  an  English  nobleman ;  then 
Mile.  Necker,  who,  as  all  the  world  knows,  married  young  Stael. 
Stael  was  a  compatriot  and  very  intimate  friend  of  Fersen, 
to  whom  the  young  lady's  hand  had  been  offered.  It  was 
even  noticed^  that  the  Queen  took  a  marked  interest  in 
StaePs  marriage,  and  furthered  it  by  persuading  Gustave  III 
to  give  the  post  of  Swedish  Ambassador  in  Paris  to  the 
bridegroom  elect.  At  the  very  beginning  of  the  Revolution, 
Stael,  influenced  by  his  wife,  took  the  side  of  the  enemies  of 
the  royal  family,  and  Gustave  III,  distrusting  his  ambassador, 
corresponded  with  Louis  XVI,  to  whom  he  remained  much 
attached,  through  the  medium  of  Fersen. 

The  latter  settled  definitely  in  Paris  at  the  beginning  of 
1790.  He  had  the  entire  confidence  of  Marie  Antoinette. 
"  This  confidence  is  all  the  more  flattering,''  he  writes  to  his 
father,  "  from  the  fact  that  it  is  shared  only  by  three  or  four 
persons,  of  whom  I  am  the  youngest."  He  might  have  said 
that  he  shared  it  with  none,  since  from  the  others — the 
Marquis  de  Bouille,  the  Baron  de  Breteuil,  and  a  little  later 
Goguelat — certain  secrets  were  withheld;  and,  moreover, 
being  tied  to  the  provinces,  they  were  not,  like  himself, 
constant  in  their  attentions  at  the  Tuileries.  He  visited  the 
Queen  at  all  hours  :  sometimes  he  passed  the  afternoon  with 
her,  and  returned  after  the  coucher  at  eleven  or  twelve  o'clock 
at  night.  She  consulted  him  and  listened  to  his  advice :  he 
was  the  only  friend  that  remained  to  her  ;  perhaps  the  only 
friend  she  ever  had. 

The  life  of  the  poor  woman  was  terrible  in  its  isolation. 
She  was  taken  from  her  mother  as  a  mere  child — she  was 
fourteen  years  old  ! — and,  judging  from  her  own  letters  and 
those  of  Mercy,  one  may  confidently  say  that  she  had  been 
very  docile  in  her  efforts  to  love  her  husband,  but  had  not 
altogether  succeeded.  Whom  then  should  she  love?  Her 
world  at  Versailles  was  composed  of  coxcombs  used  to  easy 

^  The  Queen's  attachment  to  Fersen  was  giving  rise  to  gossip.  In  the 
Gorrespondance  Secrke  of  Lescure  we  read  under  the  date  of  May  8th,  1786  : 
**  The  departure  of  the  Comte  de  Fersen,  a  Swede,  has  made  some  sensation 
in  the  immediate  circle  of  the  Queen  ;  but  the  clouds  that  his  absence  has 
produced  there  will  soon  be  dissipated." 

6 


COUNT    AXEL    DE    FERSEX. 

From  a  Miniature  painted  in  1783. 


DE  FERSEN 

victories;  her  madcap  brother-in-law,  whose  follies  she 
dreaded ;  the  rogue  de  Tilly,  who  was  her  page  ;  the  daring 
Besenval,  who  blurted  out  his  audacious  speeches  with  the 
excuse  that  a  soldier  was  always  blunt ;  Vaudreuil,  affected, 
sceptical,  and  languishing  ;  Lauzun,  whom  she  was  actually 
obliged  to  dismiss  from  her  presence.^  All  of  them  made 
court  to  her,  and  the  marvel  is  that  one  should  be  able  to 
assert,  notwithstanding  their  innuendoes  and  slyly  hinted 
mysteries,  that  not  one  of  these  puppets  tarnished  "the 
white  soul  of  the  Queen." 

But  later  on,  in  1790,  at  the  Tuileries,  the  friends  in 
whom  she  tiiisted  had  forsaken  her :  her  former  courtiers  had 
fled ;  their  chattering  tongues  were  no  longer  there  to  cheat 
the  deep  silence  in  her  heart.  Every  day  increased  the  soli- 
tude in  which  she  was  being  submerged.  She  who  had 
inherited  from  her  heroic  mother  the  need  for  great  actions 
and  the  fire  of  noble  passions,  was  condemned  to  inactivity  of 
heart  and  mind  :  she  was  thirty-five  years  old,  and  had  known 
neither  the  joys  of  love,  nor  the  sweetness  of  friendship,  nor 
the  pride  of  ruling.  What  a  mockery  was  this  life  of  hers  ! 
"  I  know,"  she  writes  to  her  brother,  "  that  it  is  the  duty  of 
kings  to  suffer  for  others,  but  verily  we  do  it  thoroughly ! " 
It  was  then  that  Fersen  reappeared,  hiding  "a  fiery  soul 
under  a  crust  of  ice";  proud,  brave,  serious,  and  so 
different  from  other  men  !  He  had  loved  her  for  seventeen 
years  :  she  saw  him  every  day  ;  he  was  the  only  one  to  do  her 
service ;  she  trusted  none  but  him,  and  he  lived  for  her 
alone.  Was  it  possible  that  she  should  long  be  indifferent 
to  him  ?  ^ 

1  *'  Lauzun,  after  having  dared,  in  his  overweening  vanity,  to  pose  as  an 
admirer  of  the  Queen  and  to  oflFer  her  a  heron's  plume  that  he  had  worn, 
carried  his  infatuation  to  the  point  of  making  her  a  declaration.  Thunder- 
struck by  the  energetic  Go,  Sir,  which  she  indignantly  flung  at  him,  he 
left  the  palace  with  his  head  hanging  and  with  rage  in  his  hear V—Htstoire 
de  Marie  Antoinette,  by  Maximo  de  la  Rocheterie.  In  the  unpublished 
manuscript  notes  on  Fersen  possessed  by  a  member  of  his  family  in  Sweden 
reference  is  made  to  a  duel  between  Fersen  and  Lauzun  :  might  it  not  be 
on  the  occasion  of  this  scene  that  the  duel  took  place  ?— (Information  from 
private  sources.)  . 

2  In  order  to  discredit  from  the  outset  any  too  venturesome  interpreta- 
tion, we  wiU  here  quote  the  evidence  of  the  two  persons  who  are  best 
informed  as  to  what  is  known  of  the  kind  of  affection  that  existed  between 
Marie  Antoinette  and  the  Comte  de  Fersen.  One  of  them,  the  Baron  de 
F.  A—,  *'sole  descendant  of  Count  Axel,"  and  owner  of  the  greater  part 

7 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

Stem  History  is  fenced  about  with  a  curious  kind  of 
reserve.  Since  it  is  her  business  to  gather  up  the  facts  bom 
of  the  conflicting  passions  of  humanity,  she  generally  despises 
love  as  a  worthless  factor,  useful,  at  its  best,  for  supplying 
situations  to  writers  of  comic  opera;  and  since  her  main 
object  is  to  make  us  believe  that  events  are  prosaically  pro- 
duced by  the  unprejudiced  reason  of  diplomatists  and  the 
wisdom  of  politicians,  she  is  apt  to  depict  the  latter  as  colour- 
less phantoms  whose  interference  is  for  the  most  part  un- 
certain and  unjustified.  It  is  true  that  if  love  is  the  prime 
motive  power  it  is  also  the  prime  secret ;  and  since  no  formal 
report  of  its  great  events  has  ever  been  drawn  up,  and 
no  chart  exists  to  tell  us  how  heavily  a  given  woman's  smile 
or  a  given  provocative  glance  has  weighed  upon  the  earth,  it 

of  his  papers,  notably  *'  of  that  portion  of  his  journal  that  extends  from 
1780  to  June,  1791,  a  portion  that  Fersen  himself  believed  to  be  lost" — the 
Baron  de  F.  A.  writes  :  "  I  assert  that  the  Count  was  never  anything  but 
the  most  loyal  and  respectful  confidant  of  the  Queen  of  France." 

The  second  witness  is  A.  Geoffroy,  the  author  of  one  of  the  best  and 
most  trustworthy  of  histories,  Gustave  III  et  la  Cour  de  France.  Geofifroy 
collected  the  materials  for  his  work  in  Sweden  :  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  he  knew  those  papers  of  Fersen's  that  are  in  the  possession  of  M.  de 
Klinckowstrom,  papers  of  which  a  portion  only  has  been  published.  Speak- 
ing of  the  devotion  of  the  faithful  Swede,  he  observes :  "  This  devotion 
must  strike  us  as  being  chivalrous  and  sincere  :  we  can  trace  it  from  the 
first  youthful  impression,  which  doubtless  made  way,  when  the  hour  of 
trouble  came,  for  a  feeling  of  tender  adoration  ;  but  nowhere  do  we  find, 
either  in  the  various  authorities  that  are  still  unpublished  or  in  the  printed 
documents,  any  certain  proof  that  this  feeling  ever  ceased  to  be  respectful." 

It  will  be  objected  that  in  the  so-called  MdTnoires  de  Lord  Holland  the 
following  words  are  found,  and  are  retained  by  Louis  Blanc :  "  Mme.  Campan 
whispered  a  very  curious  revelation,  to  the  efiect  that  Fersen  was  in  the 
Queen's  bedroom,  quite  alone  with  her,  during  the  famous  night  of  the  6th 
Oct.  (1789).  He  had  much  difficulty  in  evading  detection  (at  the  time 
when  the  palace  was  invaded  by  the  people),  and  only  succeeded  in  doing 
so  by  the  help  of  a  disguise  that  Mme.  Campan  herself  procured  for  him. 
This,  great  as  was  his  repugnance  in  repeating  anecdotes  that  might  lessen 
the  respect  felt  for  the  royal  family,  M.  de  Talleyrand  told  me  twice,  and 
declared  that  he  had  heard  the  facts  from  Mme.  Campan'sown  mouth." 
But  in  the  M^moires  de  Madame  Campan  (6th  edition,  Brussels,  1823,  vol. 
ii,  p.  125)  there  is  a  note  protesting  against  this  assertion,  and  declaring 
that  it  was  with  feelings  of  equal  indignation  and  pain  that  Mme. 
Campan  had  read  what  was  put  forward  on  her  authority  as  worthy  of 
belief.  The  same  story  is  refuted  in  the  Correspondance  entre  Miraheau  et 
le  Comte  de  la  Mark.  Geofi'roy's  words  are  true.  There  will  never  be  any 
certain  proofs  that  Fersen's  afi'ection  for  the  Queen  of  France  ever  ceased 
to  be  respectful,  and  in  considering  the  mutual  expression  of  that  aflFection, 
even  in  the  most  significant  manifestations  of  it,  we  must  always  remember 
the  romanticism,  the  demonstrativeness,  the  sensibility  that  were  fashion- 
able at  the  time. 

8 


COUNT  AXEL  DE  FERSEN 

behoves   us,   in    a    matter  of  this  kind,   to    proceed  with 
caution. 

When  we  are  concerned  with  Marie  Antoinette,  whose 
sorrows  have  invested  her  with  a  sacred  halo,  such  an  inquiry 
seems  to  call  for  still  greater  delicacy:  one  feels  a  certain 
respectful  embarrassment  in  probing  the  mysteries  of  a  heart 
that  so  many  tears  have  made  holy,  and  even  the  least  hurtful 
of  the  possible  h)rpotheses  seems  a  matter  for  remorse.  But 
we  have  our  "authorities."  Sixty  years  ago  a  registrar  at 
Orleans,  M.  Bimbenet,  while  cataloguing  the  archives  of  the 
Royal  Court,  discovered  the  remains  of  the  papers  connected 
with  the  proceedings  instituted  in  1791  against  the  accom- 
plices in  the  flight  to  Varennes,  who  were  arraigned  before  a 
High  Court  of  Justice.^  The  proceedings  were  interrupted 
by  the  Amnesty,  and  the  unused  documents  lay  there,  for- 
gotten for  half  a  century,  in  the  attics  of  the  Law  Courts. 
Among  these  records  are  seven  letters  addressed  to  Fersen  by 
a  woman  whose  name  is  unknown,  which  reached  Paris  after 
the  21st  June,  1791,  the  date  on  which  he  left  France. 
ITiese  letters,  which  were  opened  by  the  Committee  of 
Inquiries  and  handed  over  to  the  examining  magistrates,  were 
never  sent  to  Fersen,  and  were  left  in  the  portfolio. 

The  indefinable  but  most  attractive  charm  that  pervades 
old  letters  is  due,  we  may  be  very  sure,  to  the  fact  that  they 
retain  a  little  of  the  life  of  those  who  penned  them,  and  in 
reading  them  one  retrieves,  though  in  a  blurred  and  vague 
form,  the  joy  or  pain  that  they  once  conveyed.  In  the  act 
of  opening  the  old  letters  that  one  sometimes  finds,  still 

*  Bimbenet's  work  was  published  in  1844  with  the  title,  Faith/u 
Narrative  of  the  Flight  of  King  Louis  X  VI  and  his  Family  to  Varennes, 
founded  an  the  legal  and  official  Documents,  and  on  the  Papers  seized  in  the 
Homes  of  MM.  de  BcmUU,  de  Fersen,  de  Klinglin,  de  Goguelat,  de  Maiden, 
de  Valory,  de  Moustier,  and  other  Persons  indicted  before  the  National  High 
C&iirt  provisionally  established  at  Orleans,  deposited  in  the  Record  Office  oj 
that  Court.  By  M.  Eugene  Bimbenet,  Chief  Registrar,  Recorder  of  the 
Royal  Court  of  Orleans,  guardian  and  custodian  of  these  documents. 

A  second  edition  was  brought  out  in  1868,  which  was  much  more  com- 
plete and  more  valuable,  in  that  it  reproduced  the  full  text  of  the  docu- 
ments. It  was  entitled,  Flight  of  Louis  XVI  to  Varennes,  according  to 
the  legal  and  official  Dociiments  deposited  in  the  Record  Office  of  the  Natimm 
High  Court  established  [at  Orleans.  By  Eugene  Bimbenet,  formerly  Chief 
Registrar  of  the  Imperial  Court  of  Orleans.  Our  references  are  to  this 
second  edition,  unless  it  is  stated  to  the  contrary. 

9 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

sealed,  in  portfolios  of  ancient  records,  one  feels  that  from 
their  folds  there  is  escaping  something  inviolate  that  will 
never  return,  the  last  breath  of  a  vanished  life,  which  has  lain 
there  asleep  for  more  than  a  century :  and  letters  that  have 
been  stopped,  or  seized,  or  lost  on  the  way,  are  peculiarly 
touching,  for,  notwithstanding  all  the  passion  they  were 
written  with  and  all  the  agony  with  which  they  were  awaited, 
they  have  never  been  read  by  those  who  expected  them  ;  they 
have  never  said  what  they  had  to  say.  They  seem  to  be  souls 
in  torment,  grieving  because  they  are  condemned,  for  ever 
aimless  and  astray,  to  be  seen  only  by  inquisitive  and  in- 
different eyes. 

In  spite  of  their  deliberate  obscurity  and  circumlocutions, 
the  seven  letters  of  the  Unknown  reveal,  as  completely  as  one 
can  desire,  the  story  of  two  hearts  that  loved,  but  loved  with 
a  difference.  Who  was  she  ?  A  Frenchwoman,  evidently  well 
bom,  attached  to  the  service  of  an  emigrke  princess  in  England : 
it  was  there  that  she  was  in  June,  1791,  with  her  husband,  a 
man  who  was  often  ill  and  always  doleful,  whom  nevertheless 
she  proposed  to  carry  off  to  Sweden,  where  she  hoped  soon  to 
find  Fersen.  Had  the  latter  been  her  lover .?  There  is 
nothing  to  make  this  certain,  but  it  seems  extremely  probable : 
the  intimacy  between  them  is  very  great :  she  knows  certain 
ladies  whom  he  has  loved  in  the  past,  she  guesses  at  others 
and  speaks  of  them  with  some  asperity.  She  loves  him 
ardently ;  she  thinks  him  the  handsomest,  the  most  lovable, 
the  tenderest,  the  bravest,  the  most  considerate  of  heroes,  and 
has  by  no  means  hidden  from  him  that  this  is  her  point  of 
view.  He  at  first  was  gracious  enough,  thinking  it  a  case 
of  caprice  only,  but  he  soon  perceived  that  he  had  inspired 
love  in  good  earnest,  and  love  of  a  most  enthusiastic  and 
headstrong  quality,  with  which  he  did  not  wish  to  burden 
himself  at  any  price,  being  himself  absorbed  by  the  passion 
that  changed  the  course  of  his  life  and  engrossed  his  whole 
soul.  Being  as  frank  as  he  was  proud,  he  could  not  endure 
that  she  who  is  to  us  the  Unknown  ^  should  be  betrayed  into 

"It  would  have  been  possible,  by  means  of  the  coat-of-arms  of  M.  de 
Fersen's  correspondent,  which  were  clearly  reproduced  on  her  seal,  to  dis- 
cover her  name.     This  we  omitted  to  do.     Proper  names  should  be  left  in 

10 


COUNT  AXEL  DE  FERSEN 

a  love  to  which  he  could  not  respond.  He  confided  the  truth 
to  her  :  he  loved  the  Queen,  loved  her  respectfully,  devotedly, 
with  a  love  that  was  overwhelming,  profound,  infinite ;  he 
loved  her  only  the  more  since  she  was  lonely  and  unhappy, 
and  he  had  sworn  to  himself  to  save  her.  The  UnJcnown 
strove  to  silence  her  heart — which  would  not  be  silenced,  but 
gave  vent  to  pitious  lamentations.  Each  of  these  two  played 
a  fine  part :  Fersen,  so  confident  of  the  loyalty  of  a  woman 
whom  he  knows  to  be  passionate  and  jealous  that  he  trusts 
her  with  his  dangerous  secret ;  and  she,  so  brave  and  resigned 
that  she  is  able  to  forget  self  entirely  and  to  hope  that  the 
man  she  loves  so  ardently  may  find  happiness  through 
another. 

But  what  is  more  important  is  that  these  letters  give  us 
complete  information  on  several  points;  and  first,  that 
Fersen,  with  the  sublime  cruelty  of  indifference,  makes  a 
stipulation  with  the  Unknomn  that  she  shall  no  longer  weary 
him  with  her  love.  The  poor  woman  meekly  tries  to  be 
resigned. 

"  I  wish  to  see  you  again  soon  at  Stockholm,  in  the  char- 
acter of  a  dearly-loved  brother :  I  have  no  longer  any  other 
feeling  for  you  :  I  have  made  that  painful  effort  to  obey  you."" 

And  further  on : 

"  You  ought  to  be  pleased  with  me ;  I  have  now  reached 
the  state  that  you  wished,  that  you  insisted  on.  ...  I  do 
not  mean  to  have  any  feeling  but  friendship  for  you  any 
more ;  I  ought  never  to  have  had  any  other  feeling,  or  at 
least  I  should  have  kept  it  at  the  bottom  of  my  heart.  That 
is  the  greatest  sacrifice  that  I  can  make  for  you  ;  it  has  cost 
me  a  great  deal  to  take  this  course,  and  I  did  not  wish  to 
mention  it  to  you  before  I  was  sure  of  myself.  .  .  .  You  will 
be  my  only  friend  ;  my  happiness  will  be  in  writing  to  you ; 
but  I  shall  no  longer  let  you  read  my  heart ;  that  is  the  only 
secret  that  I  shall  keep  to  myself."  ^ 

She  is  jealous,  however,  though  she  dares  not  admit  it, 
so  much  afraid  is  she  of  displeasing  him  ! 

obscurity  when  the  documents  are  suflBciently  authentic  to  establish  a 
historical  fact,  especially  when  this  fact  is  connected  with  some  circum- 
stance of  private  life." — Bimbenet,  1st  edition,  p.  44  (note). 
*  Bimbenet,  Pi^cea  Justificatives,  p.  135. 

11 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

"Some  Frenchmen  whom  I  saw  yesterday  told  me  that 
it  was  you  who  escorted  your  King  and  some  other  people 
too:  I  think  that  whoever  has  the  good  fortune  to  enjoy 
your  care  and  friendship  is  more  than  happy.  .  .  .  You  are 
never  out  of  my  thoughts  :  everything  tends  in  that  direction, 
and  it  is  all  that  I  live  by." 

She  refers  to  the  Queen  by  the  words  a  certain  person^  or 
the  person  to  wlwm  you  are  attached ;  and  it  would  seem  that 
the  intimacy  between  Marie  Antoinette  and  Fersen  was  no 
longer  a  secret  in  the  circle  of  the  emigrts. 

"  My  husband  has  been  telling  me  that  you  have  been 
much  blamed  for  your  line  of  conduct,  and  that  you  have 
done  and  are  still  doing  a  great  wrong  to  a  certain  person 
whom  you  are  subjecting  to  the  scorn  of  the  public ;  that 
everyone  who  has  spoken  to  him  about  it  has  expressed 
surprise  at  your  want  of  consideration  for  her  reputation,  and 
that  you  are  ruining  her  entirely  with  those  who  might  take 
some  interest  in  her,  not  to  speak  of  the  fact  that  you  are 
actually  endangering  her  life.  I  argued  about  it  with  my 
husband,  for  I  regard  the  matter  quite  otherwise,  and  I  think 
that  at  this  moment  you  cannot  do  too  much  to  prove  your 
devotion  to  her,  by  never  leaving  her  and  by  giving  her  every 
token  of  it  that  lies  in  your  power.  And  the  very  course  of 
action  that  they  blame  in  you  and  think  wrong,  I  for  my  part 
consider  sublime,  and  can  only  respect  you  the  more  for  it." 

Moreover,  she  knows  that  he  is  perfectly  happy. 

"  I  am  satisfied  with  your  happiness,  and  no  longer  desire 
my  own." 

If  one  were  to  sift  in  the  same  way  the  numerous  letters 
sent  by  Fersen  to  Marie  Antoinette  and  the  notes  in  which 
she  replied,  one  would  find  a  thousand  indications — well 
worth  the  trouble  of  collecting — of  a  very  great  intimacy. 
He,  who  even  in  his  despatches  in  cipher  never  omits  to 
address  his  correspondents  in  the  most  formal  terms,  writes 
to  the  Queen  in  a  tone  of  absolute  familiarity.  "  I  am  sending 
you  a  line.  .  .  ."  ^  "  When  you  write  to  me,  you  had  better. 
.  .  ."2     "  You  absolutely  must  be  rescued  from  your  present 

*  Le  GonUe  de  Fersen  et  la  Gour  de  France,  ii,  p.  196. 
2  Idem,  ii,  p.  200. 

12 


COUNT  AXEL  DE  FERSEN 

state.  .  .  .'"^  "You  see  from  the  letter  of  the  King  of 
Prussia.  .  .  ."^  The  Queen's  notes  are  very  affectionate; 
there  is  one  injunction  that  is  constantly  repeated :  "  Do  not 
disturb  yourself.  .  .  .  Do  not  torment  yourself  too  much  on 
my  account.  .  .  ."'  ^  Often,  too,  she  expresses  this  desire  : 
"  When  shall  we  see  each  other  in  peace  ? ""  At  other  times 
she  ends  thus  :  "  Farewell,  I  am  altogether  yours,"  *  or  again  : 
"  Farewell,  my  dear  Rignon  [which  is  one  of  the  names  she 
gives  him]  ;  I  embrace  you  very  tenderly."  ^  For  the  writing  of 
this  one  she  employed  the  hand  of  a  confidant,  for  in  the  notes 
penned  entirely  by  herself  Fersen,  who  had  not  the  courage 
to  destroy  them,  erased  everything  of  an  intimate  nature  in 
such  a  way  that  it  is  impossible  to  decipher  a  single  letter."  ^ 
Later  on,  when  they  were  separated,  she  tried  to  com- 
municate with  him  through  Count  Valentine  Esterhazy,  the 
Governor  of  Valenciennes,  whom  she  knew  to  be  a  friend  of 
Fersen.  "  If  you  are  writing  to  him,"  she  says  to  Esterhazy, 
"  tell  HIM  that  no  number  of  hours  and  no  number  of  countries 
can  separate  hearts ;  I  feel  that  truth  more  every  day."  A  few 
weeks  later  the  Queen  writes  :  "  I  am  delighted  to  find  this 
opportunity  of  sending  you  a  little  ring,  which  is  certain  to 
give  you  pleasure.  A  prodigious  number  of  them  have  been 
sold  here  during  the  last  three  days,  and  now  it  gives  one  a 
world  of  trouble  to  find  one.  The  one  that  is  wrapped  in 
paper  is  for  him  ;  give  it  into  his  hands  for  me.     It  is  exactly 

1  Idem,  ii,  p.  166.  ^  Idem,  ii,  p.  145. 

»  Idem,  ii,  p.  318.  *  Idem,  ii,  p.  328. 

*  ("Rignon"  was  not  a  nickname  bestowed  upon  Fersen  by  the  Queen, 
but  a  fictitious  name  she  employed  to  deceive  the  revolutionary  spies  when 
Mrriting  letters — ostensibly  from  one  man  to  another  on  business  matters — 
while  she  was  a  prisoner  in  the  Tuileries.  The  letters  to  "M.  Rignon" 
were  \mtten  in  the  ordinary  way,  while  the  letters  from  the  Queen  to 
Fersen  were  written  between  the  lines  in  white  ink.  "I  embrace  you 
tenderly,"  therefore,  was  not  written  by  the  Queen  in  proprid  persond,  but 
by  the  imaginary  correspondent  of  the  imaginary  M.  Rignon — for  which 
reason  Fersen  probably  thought  it  unnecessary  to  erase  the  words.  See 
the  Diary  and  Correspondence  of  Count  Axel  Fersen. — Translator's  Note.) 

*  An  article  by  M.  Pierre  Giffard  (Le  Matin,  July  23,  1903)  gives  some 
curious  details  as  to  the  fate  of  these  manuscripts.  All  the  letters  of 
Marie  Antoinette  and  all  the  papers  of  Fersen  possessed  by  M.  de 
Klinckowstrom  were  on  the  point  of  being  burnt  by  that  gentleman  four 
years  ago,  in  the  fear  that  some  process  of  modern  chemistry  might  succeed 
m  rendering  transparent  the  enormous  erasures  that  were  so  abundant  in 
these  writings. 

13 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

the  right  size  for  him.  I  wore  it  for  two  days  before  packing 
it.  Tell  HIM  it  is  from  me.  I  do  not  know  where  he  is  :  it 
is  a  horrible  martyrdom  to  have  no  news,  and  not  even  to 
know  where  those  one  loves  are  living.  .  .  .*"  ^ 

Thus  one  may  follow  the  phases  of  this  mutual  affection, 
which  in  the  life  of  the  Queen  was,  as  it  were,  a  last  warm 
ray  of  the  setting  sun,  and  did  not  fail  to  exert  a  special 
influence  on  the  course  of  the  Revolution ;  for,  indeed, 
Fersen  was  the  most  active  agent  in  the  flight  of  the  King. 
He  feared  for  the  woman  he  loved,  and  on  the  subject  of  the 
dangers  that  threatened  her  his  passion  saw  further  and  more 
shrewdly  than  the  experience  of  the  most  subtle  politicians. 
No  sooner  was  the  flight  decided  upon  than  he  devoted 
himself  entirely  to  making  preparations.  His  activity  was 
incredible:  with  Bouille  and  Choiseul  he  arranged  the 
disposition  of  the  troops ;  studied,  stage  by  stage,  the 
route  that  was  to  be  taken  ;  and  taxed  his  ingenuity  in 
procuring  a  false  passport  for  the  royal  family.  Two  friends, 
both  foreigners,  lent  him  their  names  for  the  most  dangerous 
part  of  the  proceedings  :  one  was  English — a  little  mad,  like 
all  Englishmen  of  that  time — and  was  called  Quintin 
Crawfurd  ^ ;  the  other  was  a  Russian  lady,  the  Baroness  de 
Korff*,^  who  lived  on  the  Quai  Malaquais  in  the  fine  house 

1  These  two  letters  were  shown  to  me  by  M.  Ernest  Daudet,  to  whom  I 
now  tender  my  sincere  thanks.  M.  Daudet  has  seen  a  photograph  of  the 
two  rings  :  they  are  of  plain  gold,  with  an  oblong  stone.  On  the  stone  of 
one  are  engraved  three  fleurs-de-lis  :  on  the  other  is  this  inscription  :  Ldche 
qui  les  abandonne  (He  is  a  coward  who  deserts  them).  There  is  nothing  to 
show  which  of  the  two  was  destined  for  Fersen.  One  thing  only  is  certain, 
that  he  never  received  it.     See  the  Figaro  of  April  16,  1904. 

2  Quintin  Crawfurd,  born  at  Kilwinnick  in  the  county  of  Ayr  on  the 
22nd  September,  1743.  He  had  a  considerable  fortune.  *'  He  had  collected 
in  Florence,  Venice,  and,  above  all,  in  Rome,  pictures  and  statues  of  price- 
less worth.  The  house  in  which  he  placed  all  these  valuable  possessions 
was  furnished  with  equal  taste  and  magnificence.  Mr.  Crawfurd  was  one 
of  that  small  number  of  men  to  whose  honour,  devotion,  and  fidelity  the 
secret  of  the  journey  to  Varennes  had  been  confided.  The  carriage  that 
had  been  built  for  the  purpose  was  left  at  his  house  in  the  Rue  de  Clichy 
for  several  days  before  the  start." — Notice  sur  M,  Crawfurd^  in  the  preface 
to  the  Memoires  de  Madame  du  Hausset. 

The  carriage  only  remained  at  Crawfurd's  house  for  a  few  hours. 
Crawfurd  published  a  Notice  sur  Marie  Antoinette,  of  which  no  doubt 
very  few  copies  were  printed,  since  it  is  extremely  rare. 

3  "  Madame  de  Korfi",  widow  of  Colonel  de  KorfF,  who  was  in  the  service 
of  her  Imperial  Majesty  of  Russia  and  had  been  killed  twenty  years  earlier 

14 


COUNT  AXEL  DE  FERSEN 

now  known  as  No.  5.  Under  cover  of  these  two  names, 
Fersen  ordered  a  herline  de  voyage^  collected  funds,  and 
corresponded  with  the  Courts  of  Austria,  Sweden,  and  Spain. 
Every  day  he  was  at  the  Tuileries,  superintending  the 
smallest  details.     He  it  was  who,  little  by  little,  carried  out 


fxbssn's  house  in  the  bue  mationon. 


of  the  palace  under  his  arm  the  clothes  and  linen  that  the 
Queen  was  to  take  with  her:  he  arranged  about  the 
postillions,  the  cipher  for  letters,  the  proposed  restitution  of 
the  goods  of  the  clergy,  the  waiting-women  that  were  to  be 
taken,  the  convocation  of  the  Parliaments  at  Metz  as  soon  as 

at  the  assault  of  Binder,  lived  in  Paris  with  her  mother,  Madame  Stegle- 
man." — Archives  Imp^riales  de  Moscou.  Correspondance  de  V Amhassadeur 
Simolin,  1791. 

15 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

the  King  was  out  of  danger,  the  method  of  declaring  the 
National  Assembly  to  be  illegal  and  usurpatory — for  that 
was  among  their  plans — and  of  finally  "re-establishing 
everything  as  it  was  before  the  Revolution"";  a  Utopian 
task  which  Fersen  undertook  with  the  naive  assurance  of  a 
lover. 

He  lived  in  the  charming  house,  at  that  time  a  new  one, 
of  which  the  entrance  is  at  No.  17  of  the  Rue  Matignon.^ 
His  stables  were  a  little  higher  up  on  the  same  side,  in  the 
Faubourg  Saint-Honore.^  There,  on  the  eve  of  departure, 
the  berline  was  placed  in  the  coachhouse,  loaded  with  lug- 
gage and  stocked  with  provisions  for  the  journey  :  beef  a  la 
mode  and  cold  veal,  which  Fersen  himself  placed  in  the 
carriage,  together  with  a  bag  of  small  change  for  use  at  the 
posting-houses,  a  bottle  of  still  champagne,  and  five  bottles 
of  water.^  Nothing  is  more  striking  than  the  contrast 
between  the  triviality  of  these  petty  details  and  the  import- 
ance of  the  projected  event,  which  was  expected  to  be  even 
more  tragic  than  it  actually  was ;  for  the  King  and  his  circle 
were  persuaded  that  his  departure  would  result  in  a  conflagra- 
tion, and  that  they  would  only  return  to  Paris  to  find  it 
in  ruins. 

The  flight,  according  to  the  agreement  between  Fersen  and 
Bouille,  who  commanded  the  troops  of  the  Eastern  division, 
had  been  fixed  for  the  6th  June.  But  various  considerations, 
especially  the  presence  of  a  "  very  democratic  woman-of-the- 
bedchamber*"  who  was  leaving  the  Queen's  service  on  the 
11th,  contributed  to  the  postponement  of  the  scheme :  the 
12th  was  chosen,  but  "the  wretched  woman ""  prolonged  her 

1  " .  .  .  Rue  Matignon,  the  first  gateway  on  the  right  as  you  come  in 
by  the  Rue  (du  Faubourg)  Saint-Honor6."  Statement  of  Pierre  Lecomte, 
coachman. — Bimbenet,  Pieces  Justificatives,  p.  28. 

2  *' .  .  .  the  stables  of  the  Comte  de  Fersen,  situated  in  the  Grande  Rue 
du  Faubourg  Saint-Honor^,  with  three  entrance-gates  above  the  Rue 
Matignon."  Statement  of  Jean  Louis,  carriage-builder. — Bimbenet,  Pieces 
Jiistificatives,  p.  51.  The  following  question  was  put  to  the  Queen  by  the 
Revolutionary  Tribunal  :  "  Was  it  not  Fersen  who  lived  in  Paris  in  the 
Rue  du  Bac?" — "  Yes,"  answered  the  prisoner.  Fersen  lived  in  the  Rue 
Matignon.  It  was  Stael,  the  Swedish  Ambassador,  who  lived  in  the  Rue 
du  Bac. 

'  **  A  piece  of  beef  cl  la  mode  that  I  had  put  into  the  carriage." — Journal 
de  Fersen.  Klinckowstrom,  ii,  p.  8.  Moustier  {Relation)  mentions  the 
other  provisions. 

16 


COUNT  AXEL  DE  FERSEN 

term  of  service  till  the  20th/  and  the  journey  was  finally 
fixed  for  that  day.     It  was  a  Monday. 

^  The  Comte  de  Fersen  to  the  Marquis  de  BouilU,  29th  May,  1791.  "  The 
start  is  fixed  for  the  12th  of  next  month.  Everything  was  ready,  and  they 
were  to  have  started  Ion  the  6th  or  7th,  but  the  two  millions  (from  the 
Civil  List)  are  only  due  on  the  7th  or  8th.  There  is,  moreover,  among  the 
Dauphin's  attendants  a  very  democratic  waiting-woman,  who  is  only 
leaving  on  the  11th.  ..." 

From  the  same  to  the  same,  7th  June.  "Nothing  is  changed.  The 
journey  is  fixed  for  the  19th  ;  if  this  were  to  be  altered  I  would  let  you 
know  by  the  mail  of  the  11th.  .  .  .  " 

From  the  same  to  the  same,  13th  June.  "  The  departure  is  fixed  for 
certain  for  the  20th  at  midnight.  A  wretched  woman-of-the-bedchamber 
of  the  Dauphin's,  who  cannot  be  got  rid  of  and  is  only  leaving  on  the 
Monday  morning,  has  made  it  necessary  to  postpone  till  Monday  evening  ; 
but  you  may  count  upon  that  date.  ..." 

In  the  Mimx)ire8  secrets  et  universels  des  malheurs  et  de  la  mort  de  la  reine 
de  France,  which  must  only  be  consulted  with  caution,  but  in  which  there 
are  many  traditions  and  much  tittle-tattle  of  an  interesting  nature,  we  read 
(p.  133  et  seq)  the  following  dramatic  anecdote  about  the  *'  wretched 
woman  "  so  much  feared  by  Fersen.  '*  The  Queen,  in  spite  of  her  kindness 
and  generosity  to  the  women  of  her  bedchamber,  knew  full  well,  to  her 
sorrow,  that  these  women  were  not  all  equally  devoted  to  her.  Madame 
Rochereuil,  who  was  entrusted  with  the  care  of  her  baths  and  with  the 
key  of  the  smaller  apartments,  had  almost  adopted  the  new  ideas  ;  and  the 
fear  of  losing  her  post  would  never  have  made  her  consent  to  the  removal 
of  the  Court.  It  would  take  infinite  skill  to  evade  her  constant  watchful- 
ness :  a  sort  of  roval  conspiracy  was  necessary  to  make  it  possible  to  cross 
the  passage  near  her  room,  between  eleven  o'clock  and  midnight,  without 
disturbing  her  8luml)er8  and  rousing  her  suspicions. 

**  On  the  morning  of  the  day  fixed  for  the  journey  the  Queen  and  the  King 
entered  the  room  of  this  lady,  who  through  her  windows  in  the  entresol 
was  able  to  see  into  the  two  courts  of  the  Tuileries.  The  King,  sitting 
down,  began  to  speak  of  her  health,  as  though  it  were  the  health  of  a 
person  he  honoured  and  felt  affection  for.  He  seemed  to  be  struck  with 
the  pleasant  position  of  this  room,  and  expressed  an  intention  of  taking  it 
some  day  for  himself,  in  exchange  for  one  that  overlooked  the  garden. 
After  walking  to  and  fro  for  some  time  about  these  rooms,  which  were  next 
to  the  Queen's  antechamber,  Louis  XVI  said  to  the  woman-of-the-bed- 
chamber, *  Goodbye,  Madame  Rochereuil ;  always  be  true  to  your  poor 
mistress  ;  we,  for  our  part,  have  a  sincere  affection  for  you.  You  complain 
that  your  appetite  has  failed  :  all  these  disturbances  are  the  cause  of  it. 
To-day  I  will  send  you  a  tart  from  my  table.'  " 

And  accordingly,  after  the  King's  dinner,  Madame  Rochereuil  received 
the  pastry.  Her  great-grandparents  had  served  Louis  XIV,  and  she  was 
accustomed  to  the  extreme  graciousness  of  her  employers  ;  but  neverthe- 
less she  was  certain  in  her  suspicious  mind  that  the  King's  visit  required 
some  explanation  over  and  above  its  ostensible  motive.  His  words  seemed 
to  be  lacking  in  spontaneity,  and  disconnected.  The  Queen,  to  judge  from 
her  expression,  was  alive  to  the  necessity  for  caution ;  she  was  absent- 
minded  and  to  a  certain  extent  agitated.  Gorsas'  journal  spoke  a  little 
time  ago  of  a  plan  of  escape.  Can  it  be  that  this  flight  is  at  hand  ?  Is  the 
King  giving  me  the  tart  to  beguile  me  and  make  me  drowsy  ? 

Saying  this,  Madame  Rochereuil  called  her  little  dog  and  gave  him  the 
dainty  to  eat.  The  spaniel,  having  finished  his  meal,  settled  down  upon 
a  chair,   became  drowsy,  and  fell  into  the  most  profound  sleep.     This 

17  ^ 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

At  break  of  day  Fersen  was  afoot.  At  eight  o'clock  he 
was  driven  to  a  banker's  in  the  Rue  du  Sentier,  whence  he 

illuminating  occurrence  horrified  the  woman-of-the-bedchamber,  who 
understood  that  the  royal  family  had  determined  on  their  course  of  action 
and  that  the  final  catastrophe  was  at  hand.  Being  agitated  and  alarmed 
as  to  her  own  future  her  impulse  was  to  leave  the  Tuileries,  and  give  the 
alarm  to  the  authorities.  She  was  held  back  by  feeling  the  enormity  of 
such  ingratitude ;  but  her  own  > interests  revived  her  indignation 
.  .  .  etc. 

It  seems  almost  incredible  that  anyone  should  have  dared  to  write  these 
lines  after  the  Restoration,  in  a  volume  that  was  enthusiastically  praised 
by  the  Aristarque  and  the  Quotidienne.  The  anecdote  itself  has  no 
appearance  of  truth,  but  is  not  out  of  place  in  a  history  that  gives  us,  in 
the  last  chapter,  a  picture  of  Queen  Marie  Antoinette  dying  of  an  attack  of 
apoplexy  in  the  cart  that  was  carrying  her  to  the  scaffold. 

To  return  to  Mme.  Rocherouil  (Ferri^res  calls  her  de  Ronchreuil) :  we 
must  quote  this  passage  from  Madame  Campan  {MSmoires).  "  After  the 
return  from  Varennes  the  Mayor  of  Paris  sent  to  the  Queen  a  denuncia- 
tion emanating  from  her  woman-of-the-wardrobe,  dated  May  21,  declaring 
that  preparations  were  being  made  in  Paris  for  a  journey."  This  woman, 
adds  V.  Fournel  {L'^v^nement  de  Varennes,  p.  90)  who  was  beloved  by 
Marie  Antoinette,  derived  from  her  post  an  income  of  more  than  12,000 
francs.  She  was  in  communication  with  the  deputies  of  the  tiers-dtat,  and 
M.  de  Gouvion,  Lafayette's  aide-de-camp,  was  her  lover. 

Gouvion,  on  the  21st  June,  before  the  National  Assembly,  made  the 
following  statement :  '*  On  Saturday,  the  vigil  of  Whitsunday,  an  officer 
commanding  a  battalion  of  the  National  Guard  came  to  warn  me  that 
some  schemes  were  being  formed  in  the  palace  by  the  Queen,  who  proposed 
to  fly  and  to  take  with  her  M.  le  Dauphin  and  Madame  Royale  ...  I  said 
to  him  .  .  .  that  I  should  like  to  see  the  person  who  had  given  him  this 
information  .  .  .  The  next  day,  Whitsunday,  we  went  to  see  this  person  : 
she  told  me  that  there  was  in  the  palace  a  corridor  leading  to  the  rooms  of 
M.  de  Villequier,  and  that  it  was  by  it  that  the  Queen  thought  of 
escaping,  and  that  duplicate  keys  had  been  made  to  the  doors  that  shut  it 
off  ...  On  Friday,  the  brother  of  the  same  person  came  to  my  house,  and 
confirmed  everything.  I  said  to  him :  '  I  promised  your  sister  to  keep 
the  secret :  entreat  her  to  release  me  from  my  promise  so  that  I  can  go 
and  inferm  M,  le  Maire'  ...  I  have  not  seen  that  person  again." — 
Parliamentary  Archives,  vol.  xxvii,  p.  370. 

It  has  been  further  declared  that  that  person  providedrLafayette  with  a 
pattern  of  the  dress  that  the  Queen  was  to  wear  on  the  journey.  The  fact 
that  one  deduces  from  all  these  assertions — which  are  vague  enough — is 
that  even  among  the-Queen's  personal  attendants  there  were  those  who  were 
ready  to  betray  her,  and  that  Madame  Rochereuil  spied  upon  her  mistress 
for  the  benefit  of  the  patriots.  Fersen,  who  was  kept  well  informed,  was 
told  so  by  the  Queen  herself ;  Mile.  Rocherette  {sic) — this  is  no  doubt  a 
nickname  such  as  was  very  common  in  the  Queen's  circle — Mile.  Rocherette 
was  Gouvion's  mistress  and  told  him  everything.  She  only  had  suspicions. 
When  she  was  questioned  on  the  day  following  the  King's  departure  she 
said  horrible  things  about  the  Queen  :  on  being  asked  if  she  had  not  heard 
footsteps  passing  through  that  door,  and  if  she  had  not  been  afraid  to  stay 
where  she  was  and  give  no  alarm,  she  said  that  she  so  often  heard 
footsteps  there  after  the  King  had  gone  to  bed  that  they  did  not  strike 
her  as  anything  out  of  the  way." — {Le  [Comte  de  Fersen  et  la  Cour  de 
France,  vol.  ii,  p.  7.) 

18 


COUNT  AXEL  DE  FERSEN 

returned  to  his  own  house  in  the  Rue  Matignon.^  At 
one  o'clock  he  was  in  the  Rue  du  Bac,  in  the  house  of  the 
Swedish  ambassador,  where  he  only  stayed  for  a  quarter  of  an 
hour.2     After  being  again  put  down  at  his  own  house  for 

In  the  General  Register  of  the  Salaries  and  Quarters  ...  of  the 
Officials  in  the  Queen's  Service,  National  Archives,  0-3793,  Madame 
Hortense  Sellier  Rochereuil  figures  in  the  capacity  of  porie-chaise 
d'affaires.  Her  salary  was  75  livres  a  month,  with  387  livres,  14  sols  in 
perquisites,  making  altogether  A&2,livre8^  14: sols.  After  July  1791  Madame 
Rochereuil  figures  no  more  on  the  registers,  which  proves  that  she  had 
forfeited  the  Queen's  favour  at  the  time  of  the  flight.  She  was  replaced 
by  a  Madame  Gameau. 

1  There  are  still  in  existence  some  fragments  of  the  Diary  kept  by 

1^ 


ENTRjfcE  POUR  TlNTliRIEUR  DU  CHATEAU 

DES    TUILERIES. 
N- 

M 

a  b  pcrmiflion  de  b  R  e  i  n  e  ,  d^cntrer  aujourd^hut ,  ce 

dans  (bs  appartemens. 
Ccrtifit!  par  qoos  ,  Commandam  la  garde  de  b  Reime. 


CARD   OF  ADMISSION    TO   TUB   QUEEN'S  APARTMENTS. 

Fersen  :  hero  are  the  hasty  notes  written  during  the  week  that  preceded 
the  flight. 

Saturday,  llth  ./uTte. —Lafayette  wished  to  double  the  guard  and  have  all 
the  carriages  at  the  palace  ingpected.  Montmorin  answered  :  That 
would  he.  one  more  bolt.  I  toill  not  undertake  to  speak  of  it.  M.  de  Simiane 
gone  to  Aix-la-Chapelle,  to  act  as  a  spy. 

Sunday,  12.— The  journey  is  postponed  till  the  20th  :  the  cause  of  this  is 
a  woman-of-the-bed-chamber. 

Monday,  13.— Oath  administered  to  officers.  They  say  the  guards  are  to 
be  doubled  and  all  the  carriages  inspected. 

Thttrsday,  16.— Went  to  the  Queen  at  half-past  nine.  Carried  away  some 
baggage  myself.     They  suspect  nothing  nor  do  they  in  the  town. 

Friday,  17.— Went  to  Bondy  and  iiourget.     Dined  at  home. 

Saturday,  18.— Was  with  the  Queen  from  half-past  2  to  6  o'clock. 
Satisfactory  letter  from  the  Emperor. 

Sunday,  19.— Saw  the  King.  Brought  away  800  livres  and  the  seals. 
Stayed  at  the  palace  from  11  o'clock  till  midnight.— (i/e  Comte  de  Fersen 
et  la  Cour  de  France. ) 

2  Deposition  of  Pierre  le  Comte,  coachman. 

19  c  ^ 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

a  time,  he  drove  to  the  Pont  Royal.^  It  transpired  afterwards 
that  he  visited  the  Queen  to  consult  with  her  as  to  the  final 
arrangements.  "We  agreed,"*'  he  observes,  "that  there  was 
no  room  for  hesitation,  and  that  the  journey  was  bound  to 
take  place.  We  agreed  upon  the  hour,  &c.,  &c.  .  .  .  and 
that  if  they  were  stopped  my  best  course  would  be  to  go  to 
Brussels  and  work  in  their  interest,  &c.,  &c.  When  the 
King  was  leaving  me  he  said :  M.  de  Fersen,  whatever  may 
happen  to  me,  I  shall  never  forget  all  that  you  have  done  for 
me.  The  Queen  wept  much.  At  six  o'clock  I  left  her.''^ 
Fersen  left  the  palace  and  returned  to  his  own  house  in  the 
Rue  Matignon  ;  he  then  went  to  the  Rue  de  Clichy,  to 
Crawfurd's  house,  whither  he  ordered  his  men  to  bring  the 
great  berline  that  had  been  built  for  the  royal  family  to 
travel  in  and  had  been  for  the  last  two  days  in  his  stable- 
yard  ;  ^  at  seven  o'clock  he  saw  the  trunks,  the  parcels,  the 
silver,  and  the  provisions  *  placed  in  the  boots  and  under  the 
tarpaulin  of  the  carriage ;  at  eight  o'clock  he  met  a  hackney- 
coach  in  the  Rue  Marigny,  in  which  he  went  to  the  Pont 
Royal  to  fetch  two  of  the  bodyguard  who  were  in  his  con- 
fidence, Moustier  and  Valory  by  name,  whom  he  took  back  to 
the  Rue  Matignon ;  he  despatched  them  himself,  with  five 
horses  and  his  coachman,  Balthazar  Sapel,  to  Crawfurd's 
house,  where  they  were  to  find  the  berline  and  whence  they 
were  to  take  it  to  the  further  side  of  the  Faubourg  Saint 
Martin,  to  the  Barrier  on  the  road  to  Metz.  And  finally, 
entering  his  own  house  alone,  he  donned  the  dress  of  a  coach- 
man, mounted  the  box  of  the  hackney-coach,  and  drove  it 
through   the   streets   to  the  court  of  the  Tuileries,  where, 

^  Idem. 

^  Fersen's  Journal.     Le  Gomte  de  Fersen  et  la  Cour  de  France. 

'  Deposition  of  Frangois  Roch,  forty-five  years  of  age.  He  saw  the 
carriage  pass  by,  "in  shape  like  a  stage-coach,  quite  new,  following  the 
Rue  de  Miromesnil  and  the  Rue  de  la  P^pini^re." 

*  Deposition  of  Pierre  Lecomte.  "  The  deponent  observed,  among  other 
things,  when  the  said  carriage  was  loaded,  that  there  were  three  boots  with 
locks  and  keys,  made  of  sheet-iron  or  beaten  iron,  apparently  very  strong, 
and  about  ten  inches  square  ;  that  he,  the  deponent,  was  told  by  the  valet 
to  open  one  of  the  boots  which  was  fastened  with  a  padlock,  and  was  close 
to  the  locker  at  the  back  ;  and  that  having  opened  the  said  boot  he  had 
drawn  out  of  it  a  small  chest  filled,  he  surmised,  with  silver,  and  that  the 
valet  placed  a  silver  cup  in  the  middle  of  the  little  chest." — Bimbenet, 
Piec^  JustiOcativeSj  p,  29. 

20 


COUNT  AXEL  DE  FERSEN 

putting  his  cab  into  line,  he  took  up  his  position  and  waited. 
...  It  may  have  been  about  nine  o'clock  at  the  latest  when 
he  reached  the  spot ;  it  was  barely  dark.  The  hours  that  he 
spent  there,  amid  the  constant  stream  of  indifferent  passers 
by,  the  ebb  and  flow  of  those  who  entered  or  left  the  palace, 
the  manoeuvres  of  the  guard — those  hours  that  he  spent  there, 
knowing  what  he  knew,  must  have  been  a  time  of  torture,  of 
that  terrible  torture  that  must  perforce  be  hidden  under  an 
air  of  unconcern  and  the  outward  bearing  of  an  idler. 


21 


CHAPTER  II 


THE   FLIGHT 


"  The  terrible  quarter  of  an  hour  is  drawing  near,"  said 
Marie  Antoinette  on  the  afternoon  of  the  20th  June.  And 
indeed,  it  seemed  impossible  that  the  royal  family  should 
succeed  in  escaping  from  the  Tuileries,  for  the  Parisians  were 
jealously  keeping  watch  over  the  moribund  principle  of 
royalty,  of  which,  though  they  had  humiliated  and  mangled 
it,  they  feared  to  be  bereft,  since  they  still  clung  to  the 
tradition  that  it  was  a  protection  to  them. 

The  palace  was  guarded  like  a  prison :  national  guards, 
suspicious  and  uneasy,  were  at  every  door :  sentinels  stood  at 
each  exit  from  the  garden  ;  along  the  river  terrace,  at  intervals 
of  a  hundred  paces,  were  sentinels  again  :  six  hundred  sedion- 
naires  surrounded  the  palace :  they  patrolled  in  the  courts, 
on  the  stairs,  in  the  rooms,  in  the  kitchen.  One  of  these 
men,  who  was  posted  at  night  in  a  passage,  tells  us  that  he 
received  orders  not  to  sneeze,  so  thin  was  the  wainscot  between 
him  and  the  Queen''s  bed.  In  order  that  he  should  make  no 
noise  by  walking  up  and  down  he  was  provided  with  a  chair, 
and  mounted  guard  seated.^ 

The  private  apartments  of  the  royal  family — this  descrip- 

1  "  A  Captain  of  the  Guard  spent  twenty-four  consecutive  hours  in  the 
dark  corridor  that  ran  behind  the  Queen's  rooms.  He  had  beside  him  a 
table  and  two  candles.  This  post,  which  resembled  the  strictest  prison, 
was  by  no  means  coveted  :  Saint  Prix,  an  actor  at  the  Com&die  Fran^aise, 
had  made  it  almost  entirely  his  own,  and  his  behaviour  while  there  towards 
his  unhappy  sovereigns  was  always  touchingly  respectful.  It  was  by  this 
corridor  that  the  King  went  to  the  Queen's  rooms,  and  the  actor  from  the 
Thddtre  Fran^ais  often  secured  for  the  august  and  miserable  couple  the 
consolation  of  an  interview  without  witnesses." — M^moires  de  Madame 
Campan. 

22 


THE  FLIGHT 

tion  is  indispensable — looked  out  over  the  garden ;  on  the 
ground-floor  was  Marie  Antoinette's  dressing-room,  her  bed- 
room, and  the  drawing-room  in  which  she  received  her 
friends ;  on  the  entresol  were  the  offices,  which  included  the 
Queen's  library,  a  linen-closet,  and  also  the  King's  chart- 
room.  Exactly  above  this  entresol^  on  the  first  story,  were  the 
rooms  of  Madame  Royale  and  the  Dauphin,  the  room  in 
which  the  King  slept,  and  his  great  state-room.  Two  little 
taircases  placed  these  suites  of  rooms  in  direct  communication 
with  each  other.  A  long  corridor,  so  dark  that  even  during 
the  day  "  two  smoky  lanterns  burned  "  in  it,  connected  the 
royal  apartments  on  each  story,  and  separated  them  from  the 
various  quarters  that  faced  the  Carrousel :  these,  which  were 
allotted  to  the  gentlemen  and  ladies  in  waiting,  had  no  con- 
nection with  this  passage;  but  the  glazed  doors  of  the 
ground-floor  and  some  little  flights  of  two  or  three  steps  gave 
each  of  them  a  private  entrance  into  the  court.  Above 
these,  on  the  first  story,  were  the  state  apartments,  all  facing 
the  Carrousel  :  the  ambassadors'  gallery,  the  council-room,  the 
throne-room,  the  CEil-de-Boeiif,  the  hall  of  the  Swiss  Guards,  etc. 
In  1791,  this  immense  labyrinth  of  magnificent  apartments 
and  dark  corners  was  not  large  enough  for  the  population 
who  occupied  it.  Two  thousand  persons,  without  counting 
the  guard,  were  lodged  in  it.  At  night  they  slept  anywhere. 
A  certain  Manjuant,  page  of  the  King's  bedchamber,  lived  in 
the  council-room,  supped  there,  made  his  bed  and  slept  there. 
Brown,  a  house-porter,  spread  his  mattress  in  the  gallery, 
where  there  lay  near  him  "  two  messengers  whose  names  he 
did  not  know."  Every  morning  these  good  folk  made  their 
toilet,  arranged  their  hair,  and  ate  their  breakfast  under  the 
eyes  of  the  Psyches  and  Dianas  painted  by  Mignard  in  the 
()lympus  of  the  ceiling.  The  billiard-room  served  as  a 
dormitory  for  Pierre  Hubert,  Pcradon,  and  other  pages  of 
the  palace^ ;  and  at  Madame  Elizabeth's  very  door  a  chasseur 

1  List  of  the  efiFects  that  the  Sienr  Le  Pan,  page  of  the  Palace  of 
Versailles,  had  in  the  Palace  of  the  Tuileries,  of  which  some  were  in  a  chest 
of  drawers  in  the  King's  own  billiard-room— a  room  that  was  apportioned 
to  the  pages  of  the  palace  while  on  duty,  whether  by  day  or  night— and 
some  in  a  large  chest  placed  in  the  embrasure  of  the  first  window  in  the 
gallery. — NationcU  Archives.     T.  1077.^ 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

made  his  bed  every  evening.     The  place  was  all  confusion,  a 
swarm  of  servants  of  every  degree,  valets,  scrubbers,  water- 


pi 

o 

o 

Q 
» 

n 

H 

tn 

-1)    03 
^§ 

<1S 


OS  S 


1-1    (-• 

w  g 


O  H 
g  § 

I 

H  < 


O 

w 


carriers,  turnspits,  housekeepers,  keepers  of  the  robes,  who 
themselves  had  their   maids  and   their   cooks.     This   army 


THE   FLIGHT 

lived  in  a  state  of  useless  inaction,  indifferent  to  everything 
that  did  not  strictly  concern  their  own  business.  The 
Queen's  women  knew  nothing  of  the  arrangement  of  the 
rooms,  except  of  those  to  which  their  own  duties  were 
confined.  And  what  duties !  Madame  Brunier,  one  of 
Madame  Royale's  ladies,  "never  enters  the  Queen's  rooms 
except  to  take  the  princess  there,  whom  she  leaves  there, 
returning  instantly  herself.  She  remains  continually  in  her 
room.'^i  The  duty  of  Madame  Neuville,  one  of  the 
attendants  of  M.  le  Dauphin,  consists  in  presenting  herself 
"  during  alternate  months,  at  the  prescribed  hours,  to  help 
the  young  prince  to  rise  and  go  to  bed,  to  dress  him  and  feed 
him  "  2 ;  Madame  de  Beauvert,  woman-of-the-bedchamber, 
knows  nothing  of  the  palace  but  her  own  garret  and  the 
large  room  to  which  she  repairs  every  evening  "to  see  if 
she  is  not  wanted  "  ^ ;  another.  Mile.  Strel,  is  no  busier ;  her 
occupation  is  to  "  place  the  table  de  nuit  near  the  Queen's 
bed  at  about  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening,  while  the  princesses 
are  at  supper."  *  All  of  them,  lazy  and  submissive,  look  on 
without  emotion,  even  without  curiosity  it  would  seem,  at  the 
death-throes  of  royalty. 

As  much  to  escape  being  watched  as  to  take  refuge  from 
this  haunting  superfluity  of  service,  the  royal  family  led  the 
most  retired  and  homely  of  lives  at  the  Tuileries.  The  Queen 
breakfasted  alone  every  day,  then  sent  for  her  children,  and 
at  this  hour  the  King  came  to  pay  her  a  visit.  She  attended 
Mass,  then  retired  to  her  private  rooms,  and  at  one  o'clock 

*  Bimbenet.  Pieces  JustificcUives.  See  the  Examination  of  Antoinette 
Chapuy,  wife  of  Pierre  Edouard  Brunier,  physician  to  the  children  of 
France,  first  woman-of-the-bedchamber  to  Madame,  the  King's  daughter, 
fifty-seven  years  of  age,  native  of  Trevoux. 

■'*  Bimbenet.  Pieces  Jitstijicatives.  Examination  of  Marie  Madeleine 
Lechevin  de  Billy,  wife  of  the  Sieur  Pierre  Ed  me  Neuville,  a  porter  of 
Monsieur's,  thirtv-six  years  of  age,  a  native  of  Canada. 

3  Bimbenet.  Pieces  JustiJiccUives.  Statement  of  Claire  Claude  Andrillon 
de  Beauvert,  thirty-nine  years  of  age,  woman-of-the-bedchamber  to  the 
Queen,  p.  44. 

*  Bimbenet.  Pieces  Justijicatives.  Statement  of  Elizabeth  Strel,  aged 
twenty-one  years  and  a  half,  engaged  in  place  of  her  mother  to  attend  on 
the  Queen,  p.  46.      In  the  M6moires  de  Bachaumont,  Dec.  13,  1780,  there 


Majesty's  curtains  and  to  sleep 
idv 


she  thought  it  advisable. 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

dined  with  the  King,  Madame  Royale,  and  Madame  Elizabeth. 
After  dinner  Marie  Antoinette  generally  played  a  game  of 
billiards  with  the  King,  worked  at  her  cross-stitch,  and 
returned  to  her  own  sitting-room  until  half-past  eight,  at 
which  hour  Monsieur,  the  King's  brother,  and  Madame  la 
Comtesse  de  Provence  arrived  for  supper.  At  eleven  o'clock 
everyone  retired.^ 

On  the  20th  June,  the  day  fixed  for  the  flight,  this  pro- 
gramme was  not  altered.  To  no  one  in  the  palace,  unless  it 
were  Madame  de  Tourzel,  the  governess  of  the  royal  children, 
had  the  scheme  been  confided  :  and  in  order  to  give  no  handle 
to  suspicion  the  Queen  herself,  when  the  heat  had  somewhat 
waned,  took  the  Dauphin  and  Madame  Royale  to  the  Jardin 
Boutin,  where  the  children  ate  their  supper.^  On  returning 
at  about  seven  o'clock  she  gave  the  order  for  the  next  day's 
programme  to  the  Commandant  of  the  National  Guard ;  then 
after  spending  a  few  moments  with  a  hair-dresser  she  retired 
to  her  own  rooms  as  usual.  It  was  eight  o'clock  in  the 
evening. 

At  this  same  hour  three  former  members  of  the  Bodyguard 
who  had  lived  in  Paris  since  the  disbandment  of  the  company, 
found  themselves  once  again  in  the  Carrousel.  These  were 
MM.  de  Valory,^  de  Maiden,*  and  de  Moustier.^     In  accord- 

1  Mdmoires  de  Madame  de  Tourzel,  i,  38. 

2  <<0n  this  Monday,  the  20th,  the  Queen  attended  Mass  at  about  half 
past  twelve,  then  she  returned  to  her  rooms,  whence  she  went  into  the  dining- 
room  for  dinner."  Madame  Gougenot,  a  woman-of-the-bedcharaber,  states 
that  at  four  o'clock  she  went  "  into  the  large  room  close  to  the  salon,  where 
she  thinks  the  Queen  was  with  her  children.  She  saw  her  go  out  with  the 
children  at  about  half  past  five,  and  get  into  the  carriage  to  go  for  a  drive, 
whence  she  returned  at  seven  o'clock." — National  Archives.  D  XXIXb,  38. 

3  Body  Guard,  2nd  French  Company,  Company  of  Beauvau.  Francois 
Florent  de  Valory,  born  at  Phalsbourg.  Admitted  the  24th  Jan. ,  1773,  intro- 
duced by  M.  Danger,  adjutant  of  the  company.  Address :  Blenod,  near 
Toul,  in  Lorraine.  Archives  of  the  War  Office,  Roll  of  the  King's  Body- 
Guard. 

4  Company  of  Beauvau.  Jean  Francois  de.  Maiden,  admitted  25th 
Aug.,  1777,  at  the  age  of  twenty.  Native  of  L'Etang,  diocese  of  Limoges, 
introduced  by  his  brother,  King's  guard  in  the  same  company. 

^  Company  of  Beauvau.  Francois  Melchior  de  Moustier  de  Bermont, 
native  of  Grammont,  diocese  and  generality  of  Besancon.  (The  generality 
was  a  financial  district  presided  over  by  an  Intendant.  There  were  sixteen 
of  them. — Translator's  Note.)  Admitted  March  24th,  1773;  introduced 
by  M.  Gibert,  guard  in  the  same  company.  Address  :  Beaume-les-Dames, 
Franche  Comt(5. 


THE  FLIGHT 

ance  with  an  order  that  they  had  secretly  received  to  disguise 
themselves,  the  three  were  dressed  alike  in  couriers'  jackets 
bought  the  day  before  in  the  Rue  Saint  Honore,  near  the 
Oratory,  from  Longprix,  the  dealer  in  old  clothes  who,  at 
the  time  of  the  suppression  of  liveries,  had  been  the  highest 
bidder  for  the  entire  outfit  of  the  house  of  Conde. 

While  these  three  gentlemen  were  walking  up  and  down  in 
front  of  the  guard-room  a  person  who  was  unknown  to  them 
came,  at  about  half-past  eight,  to  inform  Moustier  that  they 
were  waiting.  Having  been  received  a  few  days  earlier  at  the 
Tuileries,  Moustier  knew  the  ins  and  outs  of  the  building, 
and  while  his  comrades  walked  off  with  the  stranger  he  went 
into  the  palace,  entered  the  dark  passage  on  the  ground- 
floor,  and  climbed  the  little  staircase  leading  to  the  King's 
room.  Louis  XVI.  was  waiting  for  him  on  the  landing  of 
the  entresol.  He  took  his  hand,  and  drew  him  quickly  into 
the  Queen's  library,  where  Moustier  was  not  a  little  surprised 
to  find,  besides  Marie  Antoinette,  M.  de  Valory,  and  M.  de 
Maiden,  whose  guide  had  brought  them  in  by  another  way.^ 
The  name  of  this  mysterious  personage,  who  played  one  of  the 
most  active  parts  on  this  evening,  has  never  been  revealed : 
he  was  evidently  a  confidant  who  was  trustworthy  enough  to 
be  initiated  into  all  the  plans,  and  yet  not  so  distinguished 
that  his  comings  and  goings  would  rouse  suspicion.  Perhaps 
he  should  be  identified  with  the  valet  Durey,  to  whom,  a 
month  earlier,  Louis  XVI  had  confided  the  secret  of  the  iron 
safe.2 

*  "On  the  2l8t,  between  eight  and  nine  oclock  in  the  evening,  MM.  de 
Maiden  and  de  Valory  entered  the  Tuiloriea  by  the  Galerie  du  Louvre, 
which  extends  along  the  quay,  while  M.  de  Moustier  entered  by  the  little 
staircase  that  leads  to  the  room  of  the  King's  chief  valet.  His  Majesty, 
who  was  awaiting  him  at  the  first  door  lest  the  sentry  should  raise  some 
objection  to  his  entering,  opened  the  door  to  him  himself  at  the  first  sound 
he  made  ;  then,  taking  him  by  the  hand,  ordered  him  to  follow  him  to 
the  Queen's  rooms,  where,  together  with  his  two  comrades"  .  .  .  etc. 
— Relation  du  voyage  de  S.  M.  Louis  X  F/,  par  M.  le  Comte  de  Moustier, 
1815. 

^  In  the  course  of  the  Examination  to  which  Marie  Antoinette  was 
subjected  before  the  Revolutionary  Tribunal  on  the  21st  Vend^miare 
year  II,  Hermann  put  this  question  to  her  : 

Whether,  among  the  persons  who  furthered  her  flight  (June  20,  1791) 
Lafayette,  Bailly,  and  the  architect  Renard,  were  not  included. 

A.  That  the  two    first    were    the    last    people    they    would    have 

27 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

The  three  guards  were  presented  to  the  Queen.  Moustier 
was  forty  years  old ;  he  was  a  very  tall  man,  with  a  pale 
grave  face  framed  in  a  fringe  of  beard,  and  with  sunken  and 
very  short-sighted  eyes.  Maiden,  also  exceptionally  tall, 
had  a  face  that  was  "full  and  long."  Valory,  who  was 
younger  than  his  comrades,  was  thin,  and  appeared  delicate.^ 

The  interview  was  very  short :  nothing  was  confided  to  the 
three  guards  except  that  a  journey  was  about  to  be  under- 
taken, and  that  M.  de  Fersen  would  tell  them  the  rest.  The 
Queen  asked  for  their  Christian  names,  by  which  to  call 
them  on  the  journey.  Moustier  was  to  be  Melchior,  Valory 
Frangois,  and  as  Maiden's  name  was  the  same,  they  called 
him  Saint  Jean  to  avoid  confusion.^  Then  they  quickly 
separated.  While  the  King  was  hiding  Maiden  in  a  kind  of 
cupboard,^  in  which  he  was  noiselessly  to  await  the  hour 
of  departure,  Moustier,  without  further  precautions,  went  out 
past  the  rooms  of  the  suite  and  down  the  grand  staircase, 
carrying  in  two  travelling  bags  the  necessaries  for  the  night 
of  the  Queen  and  the  Dauphin,  and  joined  Valory  on  the 
Quai  near  the  Pont  Royal,  where  Fersen,  leaning  his  elbows  on 
the  parapet  and  staring  at  the  river,  had  been  awaiting  them 
for  half  an  hour.* 

As  for  the  Queen,  as  soon  as  the  interview  was  over  she 
returned  by  her  private  staircase  to  her  rooms  on  the  ground- 
floor,  and  calling  her  attendants,  was  undressed  by  Madame 

employed  ;  the  third  was  at  that  time  under  their  orders,  but  they 
never  employed  him  in  that  particular  matter. 

Q.  Put  before  her  that  this  answer  is  inconsistent  with  the  state- 
ments made  by  persons  who  fled  with  her,  from  which  it  appears  that 
Lafayette's  carriage,  at  the  moment  that  the  fugitives  came  down 
through  the  rooms  of  a  woman  in  the  service  of  the  accused,  was  in 
one  of  the  courts,  and  that  Lafayette  and  Bailly  looked  on,  while 
Renard  superintended  the  exit  from  the  palace. 

A.  That  she  does  not  know  what  statements  the  persons  who  were 
with  her  may  have  made  ;  all  that  she  knows  is  that  she  met  Lafayette's 
carriage  in  the  Place  du  Carrousel,  but  that  it  went  on  its  way,  and 
she  certainly  had  no  intention  of  stopping.  As  for  Renard,  she  can 
declare  with  certainty  that  he  did  not  superintend  the  exit  from  the 
palace;  she  alone  opened  the  door  and  saw  that  everyone  went  out. 
Campardon. — Le  Tribunal  rdvolutionnaire  de  Paris, 

^  Deposition  of  Joseph  Longprix,  dealer  in  old  clothes,  and  of  Nicolas 
Chevreau,  tailor's  assistant. — Bimbenet.     Pieces  Justijicatives,  pp.  22,  23. 

2  See  Fournel.     U^v6nement  de  Varennea,  p.  119,  note. 

*  Examination  of  Maiden. — Bimbenet.     Pidces  Justijicatives,  p.  95. 

*  Moustier's  Narrative. 

^8 


THE  FLIGHT 

Gougenot  and  Madame  Thibault,  two  of  her  women-of-the 
bedchamber.^ 

At  nine  o'clock  as  usual,  Monsieur,  the  King's  brother, 
Madame  la  Comtesse  de  Provence,  and  Madame  Elizabeth 
arrived  for  supper.  They  met  in  the  Queen's  own  drawing- 
room,  on  the  ground-floor  of  the  palace.  This  was  their  time 
for  intimate  talk :  the  children  did  not  appear  at  the  evening 
meal :  for  as  the  Dauphin  went  to  bed  at  the  supper  hour 
and  Madame  Royale  a  little  later,  they  were  served  with  their 
meals  in  their  own  rooms. 

The  Queen  was  a  little  late  that  evening.  When  she 
appeared  Monsieur  went  forward  to  embrace  her.  She  was 
much  moved. 

"Take  care  not  to  upset  me,"  she  said,  "I  do  not  wish 
anyone  to  see  I  have  been  crying.""  ^ 

They  passed  on  into  a  salon  which  was  used  as  a  dining- 
room,  and  was  next  to  the  large  study.  The  supper  was 
short :  at  half-past  nine  the  five  left  the  table  and  returned  to 
the  drawing-room,  the  doors  of  which  were  closed  after  them. 

Hardly  were  they  alone  together  before  they  began  to 
speak  "  of  the  great  enterprise.*"  ^  One  can  picture  these  five 
people,  once  so  enormously  powerful,  but  reduced  now  to  this 
pitiable  venture,  speaking  low,  listening  through  the  doors  to 
the  footsteps  of  the  valets,  arranging  their  flight,  discussing 
the  disguises  in  which  they  should  muffle  themselves,  and 
symbolising  so  perfectly  at  iiiat  moment  the  monarchy  at  bay. 
Monsieur  had  decided  to  start  after  midnight,*  disguised  as  an 

*  Marie  Madeleine  Xavi6re  CoUignon,  wife  of  the  Sieur  Gougenot 
(receiver-general  of  general  excise),  woman-of-the-bedchamber  to  the 
Queen,  had  gone  on  duty  for  the  week  on  Monday  the  20th  at  midday. 
She  was  summoned  to  undress  the  Queen  a  little  before  the  supper  hour  ; 
it  was  then  about  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening. — National  Archives. 
D.  XXIXb  38. 

2  "  1  went  down  to  the  Queen's  rooms,  and  had  to  wait  for  her  for  some 
time,  because  she  was  shut  up  with  the  three  body-guards  ...  At  last 
she  appeared  ;  I  hastened  to  embrace  her  :  *  Take  care  not  to  upset  me,' 
she  said  to  me,  '  I  do  not  wish  anyone  to  see  that  I  have  been  crying.' 
We  had  supper,  and  we  all  five  remained  together  until  nearly  eleven 
o'clock."— i?e/a<t07t  du  voyage  de  S.  M.  Louis  XVI  a  Bruxelks  et  a 
Coblenz  en  1791.  ^  Idem. 

*  "The  King,  who  until  then  had  not  told  me  where  he  was  going 
announced  to  me  that  he  was  going  to  Montm^dy,  and  strictly  commanded 
me  to  repair  to  Longwy,  by  way  of  the  Austrian  Netherlands," — 
Monsieur's  Narrative. 

99 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

Englishman,  with  his  friend,  d'Avaray,  by  the  Soissons  and 
d"'Avesnes  road,  leaving  his  wife  to  the  care  of  M.  de  Gour- 
billon,  who  with  her  was  to  take  the  road  to  Brussels  by  way 
of  Valenciennes  and  Orchies.  The  King,  in  his  turn,'  told  his 
plans,  and  they  agreed  to  meet  two  days  later  at  the  Abbe 
de  Courville''s  chateau  of  Thonnelles  near  Montmedy,  which 
M.  de  Bouille  had  had  prepared  to  give  some  kind  of  shelter 
to  the  fugitives.^ 

The  King  and  his  brother  placidly  calculated  their  chances 
of  success.  It  was  nearly  ten  o'clock  ;  the  moment  had  come. 
The  Queen,  opening  the  doors  cautiously,  left  the  room 
silently.  Looking  to  see  if  anyone  were  following  her  she 
gained  the  libary  staircase  and  reached  the  first  story ;  then, 
holding  her  breath,  for  a  sentry  was  keeping  guard  in  the 
passage,  she  glided  to  the  door  of  her  daughter's  room. 

The  young  princess  had  only  been  in  bed  for  a  few  minutes. 
Hearing  the  sound  of  gentle  knocking  on  the  wainscot  she 
became  uneasy,  and  spoke  of  it  to  Madame  Brunier,  who 
was  watching  near  at  hand :  the  latter  hesitated  and  took 
fright,  but  the  Queen  softly  called  to  her  and  Madame 
Brunier  opened  the  door.^  The  Queen  entered — quickly, 
she  said — Madame  must  be  dressed  and  come  down  with  her 
to  the  entresols:  they  are  going  on  a  journey.  This  is  really 
stupefying.  They  are  just  starting,  moreover.  The  Queen 
in  a  few  words  explains  to  Madame  Brunier  "  how  they  are 
going  to  settle  matters  " ;  she  is  to  go,  too ;  she  will  travel  with 
Madame  Neuville,^  and  while  Madame  hastily  rises  from  her 
bed  the  Queen  passes  on  into  the  next  room,  which  is  the 
Dauphin's. 

^  Thonnelles  is  a  village  on  the  departmental  road  from  Montmedy  to 
Sedan.  The  Chateau,  which  has  been  recently  restored,  is  of  modest  pro- 
portions and  surrounded  by  a  little  park.  There  is  still  some  fairly  fine 
woodwork  left  in  it. 

2  Relation  du  voyage  de  Varennes,  by  Marie  Ther^se  Charlotte  of  France 
(her  Royal  Highness  the  Duchesse  d'Angouleme). 

3  Madame  Brunier  had  not  yet  gone  into  her  room,  "  which  is  next  to 
Madame's,  when  Madame  said  to  her  that  someone  was  knocking  at  the 
door.  Madame  Brunier  had  some  difficulty  in  opening  the  door,  and  it 
was  after  hearing  the  Queen's  voice  that  she  did  so :  the  Queen  came  in, 
and  ordered  her  to  take  Madame  out  of  bed  and  dress  her  instantly  .  .  . 
telling  her  that  she  was  to  go  away  with  Madame  Neuville."  Examination 
of  Madame  Brunier,  July  5,  1791.     Bimbinet.     Pieces  JiLsti/icativeSy  p.  74, 

30 


THE  FLIGHT 

The  governess,  Madame  de  Tourzel,  is  there  with  Madame 
Neuville,  and  also  Madame  de  Bar,  the  night-nurse,  the  only 
one  who  sleeps  in  the  room  beside  the  child.^  He  has  been 
asleep  for  nearly  an  hour.  The  Queen  draws  the  green  damask 
curtains,  bends  over  the  bed,  and  to  make  his  waking  easy, 
as  mothere  will,  she  whispers  a  few  words  under  her  breath  : — 
"  We  are  off:  we  are  going  to  the  wars,  where  there  will  be 
ever  so  many  soldiers."  The  prince  opens  his  eyes  and  stares 
in  surprise.  "  Will  he  command  his  regiment  ? ""  And  in  a 
moment  he  is  out  of  bed,  demanding  his  boots  and  sword. 
"  Quick,  quick,  let  us  hurry,  let  us  be  off.*"  ^ 

While  he  was  being  dressed  the  Queen  informed  Madame 
Neuville  that  she  was  to  follow  the  prince;  hearing  which 
Madame  de  Bar  began  to  sob  and  threw  herself  on  her 
knees,  praying  for  the  success  of  the  expedition  and  kissing 
the  hands  of  the  Queen  ,^  who  escaped  and  returned  to  the 
salon. 

Her  absence  had  only  lasted  a  few  minutes,  but  neverthe- 
less it  must  have  been  noticed.  The  King  doubtless  asked 
her  about  it,  and  she  herself  must  have  explained  it  in  a 
word  :  "  The  childi-en  have  been  roused."  Of  her  absence,  of 
her  very  evident  emotion.  Monsieur,  in  writing  his  account  of 
this  evening,  does  not  say  a  single  word!  His  indifference 
with  regard  to  his  nephew,  whose  name  he  does  not  once 
mention,  is  one  of  the  peculiarities  of  his  astonishing  narra- 
tive. Was  the  Queen  afraid  to  let  her  brother-in-law  know 
that  the  Dauphin  was  escaping,  and  did  she  invent  some 
excuse  for  leaving  the  salon  ?  But  why  this  mistrust,  and 
what  is  the  explanation  of  it  ? 

Madame  de  Tourzel  and  Madame  Neuville  had  quickly 
brought  the  young  prince  down  to  the  Queen's  entresol.  The 
door  was  shut,  and  these  ladies,  on  whom  the  necessity  for 
silence  had  been  impressed,  did  not  dare  to  knock.  The  child 
was  overcome  with  sleep,  and  Madame  Neuville,  seating  herself 
on  the  floor,  took  him  in  her  arms.     Finally  Madame  Royale 

*  Hero  Madame  de  Tourzel's  Memoirs  differ  slightly  from  Madame 
Neuville's  statement.  According  to  the  latter  it  was  Madame  de  Tourzel 
who  awakened  the  Dauphin. 

^  M^moires  de  Madame  de  Tourzel. 

^  M6mo%rea  de  Madame  de  Tourzel. 

31 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

also  came  down  with  Madame  Brunier,  and  upon  the  door 
being  opened  they  ventured  into  the  Queen's  private  rooms.^ 
There  they  found  M.  de  Maiden,  who  had  come  out  of  his 
cupboard,  and  Madame  Thibault,  whom  the  Queen  had  taken 
into  her  confidence.  This  lady  had  prepared  for  Madame  a 
dress  of  brown  cloth  dotted  with  yellow  and  white  sprigs,  and 
for  the  Dauphin  a  little  girPs  dress,  in  which  his  sister  thought 
he  looked  "  charming.'**  ^  He  was  so  sleepy  "  that  he  did  not 
know  what  was  taking  place.""  Madame,  who  understood  as 
little  as  he,  asked  him  "  what  he  thought  was  going  to 
happen.""  He  answered  resignedly :  "  We  must  be  going  to 
act  a  comedy,  since  we  are  dressed  up."  ^ 

The  Queen  went  upstairs  several  times  while  they  were  being 
dressed;  they  spoke  little  in  their  haste;  the  King  also 
came  to  see  his  children,  and  gave  Madame  de  Tourzel  a  note 
signed  with  his  own  hand  "  to  prove,  in  case  of  accident, 
that  it  was  by  his  orders  that  she  was  taking  away  the  son  of 
France^  * 

It  was  half-past  ten  ^  when  they  were  ready.  The  King 
joined  his  brother,  who  had  stayed  with  the  Comtesse  de 
Provence  and  Madame  Elizabeth  in  the  Queen's  drawing- 
room.  The  Queen,  pushing  Madame  de  Tourzel  before  her, 
guided  her  towards  a  door  that  was  generally  fastened,  of 
which  she  had  the  key.     This  door  gave  access  to  one  of  the 

1  Examination  of  Madame  Neuville. 

2  *'  I  had  long  ago  taken  the  precaution  of  having  a  little  cloth  dress 
and  cap  made  for  my  daughter  Pauline,  in  which  to  dress  Monseigneur  le 
Dauphin  as  a  little  girl  if  circumstances  made  this  change  necessary.  We 
made  use  of  them  successfully."    M^moires  de  Madame  de  Tourzel. 

^  Narrative  of  Marie  Th6r6se  Charlotte. 

^  ' '  The  King  added  that  I  should  only  learn  the  details  of  the  journey 
after  we  had  started,  in  order  that  it  might  be  less  embarrassing  to  answer 
questions  if  I  should  be  unfortunate  enough  to  be  stopped  ;  after  which  he 
gave  me  a  note  signed  by  himself,  to  show,  in  case  of  accidents,  that  it 
was  by  his  orders  that  I  was  taking  away  Monseigneur  le  Dauphin  and 
Madame.  He  also  gave  me  permission  to  take  M .  de  Gouvion  with  me  if 
we  met  him,  supposing  he  undertook  to  further  the  departure  of  their 
Majesties.  I  had  also  marked  two  pieces  of  gold,  with  a  view  to  giving 
one  of  them  to  a  National  Guard  if  we  should  happen  to  meet  one,  promis- 
ing him  at  the  same  time  to  make  his  fortune,  and  to  give  him  a  good  sum 
of  money  when  he  should  produce  a  coin  similar  to  the  one  I  should  keep 
myself  to  compare  with  his." — MSmoires  de  Madame  de  Tourzel,  i,  305. 

*  *'  At  half  past  ten,  when  we  were  all  ready,  my  mother  herself  led  us 
to  the  carriage  in  the  middle  of  the  courtyard."  Narrative  of  Marie  Therese 
Charlotte, 


THE  FLIGHT 

suites  of  apartments  that  opened  on  the  court,  and  had  usually 
no  communication  with  the  rest  of  the  palace.  The  rooms 
into  which  they  groped  their  way  had  been  occupied  by  M.  de 


Villequier,  who  had  emigrated ;  they  were  empty,  and  echoed 
to  every  sound  ;  Madame  de  Tourzel,  who  was  full  of  anxiety,^ 

*  "On  leaving  the  Queen's  sitting-room  Madame  de  Tourzel  entered  a 
passage  that  was  quite  strange  to  her  and  led  her  to  the  door  of  M.  de 

33  D 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

pressed  the  silent  children  to  her  side.  They  paused  at  the 
end  of  an  empty  room  ;  through  a  huge  glazed  door  they  saw 
the  glimmering  lights  of  the  Carrousel  and  the  groups  of 
people  moving  in  the  court.  The  Queen  looked  out  for  a 
moment,  and  then  hid  herself  once  more  in  the  gloom.  Under 
the  cold  insensibility  affected  by  the  legal  documents  one  can 
guess  at  the  anguish  that  must  have  wrung  the  heart  of  Marie 
Therese*'s  daughter  at  this  fatal  hour.  Three  times  she  went 
to  the  door  and  looked  keenly  round  the  court ;  ^  then  a 
shadow  appeared  outside  and  peered  closely  through  the 
panes.  The  door  opened;  the  man  who  entered  wore  an 
overcoat  and  a  coachman's  hat:  it  was  Fersen.  Without 
uttering  a  word  he  took  the  Dauphin's  hand ;  Madame  de 
Tourzel  drew  Madame's  arm  through  her  own,  and  they 
passed  out,  down  four  steps  and  across  the  pavement  of  the 
Princes'  Court,  "as  bright  as  in  full  daylight."  But  the 
carriages  drawn  up  along  the  walls  of  the  palace  made  a  line 
of  shadow  which  enabled  them  to  gain  the  Royal  Court.^  The 
National  Guards  were  walking  about  there,  enjoying  the  fresh 
air,  talking  in  high  voices  and  laughing  loudly.  Madame 
Royale,  being  nearly  pushed  over  by  one  of  them,  could  not 
restrain  a  cry  of  fear,  and  turning  round  at  the  same  moment, 
perceived  that  her  mother  was  behind  her.     They  found  the 

Villequier's  rooms,  which  looked  out  over  the  Cour  des  Princes ;  there  was 
a  man  there  whose  name  she  did  not  know,  nor  his  rank  nor  where  he 
lived,  who  gave  his  hand  to  M.  le  Dauphin  while  she  herself  gave  her  hand 
to  Madame,  the  King's  daughter :  it  was  thus  that  all  four  of  them  went 
from  the  Queen's  sitting-room  to  a  door  that  opened  on  the  Cour  des 
Princes.  She  observes  that  having  been  much  agitated  at  the  time,  she 
cannot  be  perfectly  certain  of  the  accuracy  of  the  answer  she  is  about  to 
give. 

•'*  How  was  the  person  dressed  who  gave  his  hand  to  M.  le  Dauphin  and 
probably  walked  in  advance  of  her  (Madame  de  Tourzel)  ? 

"Said  that  owing  to  her  being  much  agitated  and  indisposed  she  was 
not  able  to  observe  the  kind  of  clothes,  especially  as  the  corridor  was  not 
lit  up.  She  does  not  even  know  whether  it  was  a  man  or  a  woman  who 
acted  as  guide." — Examination  of  Madame  de  Tourzel.  Bimbenet.  Pieces 
Justijicatives,  p.  86. 

1  Relation  du  depart  de  Louis  X  VI,  par  le  due  de  Choiseid. 

2  "It  is  very  easy  to  get  out  of  M.  de  Villequier's  rooms,  because  of  the 
number  of  carriages  that  hide  the  entrance  in  the  Cour  des  Princes ;  the 
carriages  being  there  to  wait  for  the  people  who  are  attending  the  King's 
covjcher  or  coming  away  from  Madame  de  Tourzel's  rooms." — Statement  of 
J.  B.  Cauthanet-Cl^ry,  valet  to  M.  le  Dauphin,  Bimbenet.  Pieces  Jiisti- 
HcoUives,  p.  20. 

34 


THE   FLIGHT 

carriage,  "  a  venerable  coach  that  looked  like  a  cab,*"  which 
Fersen,  being  obliged  to  follow  the  line,  had  not  been  able  to 
bring  nearer  to  the  palace,  and  which  stood  in  the  rank  in  the 
middle  of  the  Royal  Court.  In  spite  of  the  imminent  danger 
of  being  recognised,^  the  Queen  walked  to  the  carriage  under 
the  light  of  the  street-lamps,  among  those  groups  of  soldiers 
who  saw  her  daily.  The  door  was  opened  and  the  Dauphin 
took  his  place;  then  Madame,  and  finally  Madame  de 
Tourzel ;  and  Fersen,  having  mounted  the  box,  whipped  up 
his  horses.  The  Queen  then  retunied  to  the  palace  alone, 
traversed  the  deserted  rooms,  closed  the  doors,  and  regained 
the  salon,  where  she  found  the  King,  Monsieur,  and  her  two 
sisters-in-law.     It  was  a  quarter  to  eleven. 

Madame  Neuville  and  Madame  Brunier,  who  had  remained 
in  the  Queen's  entresol  with  Maiden,  waited  there  meekly  for 
their  orders.  They  knew  nothing  except  that  they  were 
going  away.  "  You  are  to  go  to  Claye,*"  the  Queen  had  said. 
But  how .?  And  where  were  they  to  go  next  ?  In  the 
surprise  and  agitation  of  the  moment  they  had  not  dared,  nor 
had  they  been  able,  to  ask  questions.  Madame  Brunier,  who 
was  no  longer  young — she  was  fifty-seven  years  old — did  not 
even  show  the  least  wish  to  embrace  her  husband  and 
children,  who  were  living  in  the  palace,  "  two  steps  away  from 
her.*"  2  She  had  not  made  any  preparations,  moreover,  not 
even  to  the  extent  of  a  single  package ;  indeed,  she  had  not 

1  "  Everyone  knows  that  the  King  left  Paris  under  a  false  name ;  in 
fact,  the  circumstances  of  his  departure  are  known.  What  is  not  so  well 
known  is  that  all  the  royal  family  were  seen  as  they  went  out  by  Gouvion, 
Chief  of  tho  Staff  of  the  National  Guard,  who  never  left  the  Tuileries,  his 
quarters  boinc  near  the  gate  of  the  Cour  des  Princes.  The  fact  was  so 
apparent  to  Madame  Royale  that  she  said,  clinging  to  her  virtuous  Aunt 
Elizabeth;  "Alas,  ma  tarite,  we  are  lost,  Gouvion  has  seen  us!"  This 
rascal,  a  traitor  to  the  last,  wishing  his  unhappy  master  to  have  all  the 
shame  of  an  abortive  scheme  and  the  humiliation  of  a  scandalous  arrest, 
pretended  at  the  time  to  notice  nothing." — Mdmoires  du  Marquis  de 
McUeissye,  p.  213. 

Is  it  necessary  to  point  out  that  Gouvion  cannot  have  recognised  all  the 
royal  family,  who  did  not  leave  the  palace  together,  and  that  Madame 
Royale  cannot  have  clung  to  her  aunt,  since' her  aunt  was  not  there,  having 
only  escaped  from  the  palace  an  hour  later  ? 

-  "She  was  told  that  she  was  going  to  Claye,  there  to  await  further 
orders  :  she  was  not  even  allowed  time  to  see  her  husband  and  children, 
who  were  only  a  few  steps  away." — Examination  of  Madame  Brunier. 

35  p  2 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

changed  her  dress,  but  was  wearing  the  same  gown  of  thick 
blue  taffeta  that  she  had  put  on  in  the  morning.  Whether 
it  came  from  obedience  or  bewilderment,  this  state  of  passivity 
was  peculiar. 

The  Queen  reappeared  for  an  instant.  She  was  excited. 
"  Come,  come,  be  quick,  be  off ! ''  she  said  to  the  two  women.^ 
They  went  out,  guided  by  the  unknown  man  who  had  brought 
the  two  guards  to  the  palace.  He  led  them  upstairs  to  the 
first  story  and  along  the  passage,  then  down  again  to  the 
ground-floor,^  and  out  of  the  building  by  the  door  of  the 
Queen"'s  staircase  in  the  corner  of  the  Princes'  Court,  at  the 
foot  of  the  Pavilion  de  Flore.  The  ladies  followed,  without 
uttering  a  word ;  their  companion,  equally  dumb,  led  them  to 
the  quay,  crossed  the  Pont  Royal,  and  turned  to  the  right  on 
the  Quai  d'Orsay.^  Near  the  Guignard  Baths  *  a  carriage  was 
standing ;  it  was  a  stage-cabriolet  with  two  lamps,  painted 
yellow  and  drawn  by  three  horses. 

The  postillion,  a  youth  of  twenty,  named  Pierre  Lebas,  was 
walking  to  and  fro.  He  had  been  waiting  for  an  hour,  by 
order  of  "  three  individuals  whom  he  had  brought  from  the 
Rue  Matignon,''  who  had  disappeared  into  the  Rue  du  Bac 
on  the  pretext  of  having  a  drink.^ 

1  Examination  of  Madame  Neuville. 

2  "Said  that  at  about  eleven  o'clock  she  left  the  entresol,  to  which  she 
had  come  down  witli  Madame  Brunier  and  a  man  who  showed  them  the 
way :  that  they  went  up  again  from  the  entresol  to  the  great  corridor,  then 
descended  by  a  little  staircase  at  the  end  of  the  corridor,  and  went  out  of 
the  palace  by  the  door  opening  into  the  Cour  des  Princes,  passing  in  front 
of  Madame  de  Tourzel's  rooms." — Examination  of  Madame  Neuville. 

*  The  Quai  d'Orsay  was  at  that  time  merely  a  high  bank,  which  was 
reached,  on  turning  off  the  Pont  Royal,  by  an  extremely  steep  incline. 

*  Formerly  the  Le  Poitevin  Baths. 

5  Pierre  Lebas,  postillion,  deposes  : — "He  heard  someone  tell  the  ostler 
that  a  messenger  from  M.  de  Fersen  had  come  in  the  afternoon  to  order 
three  horses  from  the  postillonage.  That  someone  came  at  seven  o'clock  in 
the  evening  to  say  that  the  horses  would  be  wanted  at  nine  o'clock,  and 
that  they  were  to  be  taken  to  M.  de  Fersen's  house  ;  that  he  himself  in  his 
capacity  of  postillion  led  the  three  horses  to  the  house  of  the  said  Fersen 
at  about  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening  or  a  quarter  past,  and  that  he  found 
in  the  courtyard  an  individual  who  told  him  to  wait ;  that  soon  afterwards 
two  other  individuals  arrived,  who  conversed  with  the  one  who  was  already 
in  the  yard  and  said  that  the  gentleman  had  not  yet  arrived ;  that  at  about 
ten  in  the  evening,  or  a  quarter  past,  a  gentleman  arrived  whom  he  pre- 
sumed to  be  M.  de  Fersen,  who  told  him  to  harness  the  three  horses  to  a 
post-chaise  that  was  standing  ready  in  the  yard ;  that  the  gentleman  he 
presumed  to  be  M.  de  Fersen  then  disappeared,  after  telling  him  to  drive 

36 


THE   FLIGHT 

The  unknown  opened  the  door  of  the  cabriolet,  helped  the 
ladies  to  enter,  closed  the  door,  bowed,  and  slowly  walked  away, 
while  the  postillion  leapt  into  the  saddle.  The  horses  were 
already  mounting  the  slope  of  the  Pont  Royal  when  it  occurred 
to  PieiTe  Lebas  "  that  he  did  not  know  where  they  were  going/"' 
He  stopped,  and  turning  round,  asked  the  ladies  whither  he  was 
to  drive  them.  Through  the  lowered  window  they  answered  : 
"  To  Claye,*"  and  Lebas  proceeded  on  his  way,  not  without 
having  observed  "  that  the  unknown  individual,  seeing  that 
the  carriage  was  stopping,  had  hastily  approached  it.''  ^ 

Meanwhile,  at  the  palace,  the  evening  was  drawing  to  a 
close  in  the  usual  monotonous  way,  as  far  as  outward  ob- 
servances were  concerned.  As  the  hour  approached  when  the 
royal  family  were  in  the  habit  of  separating,  the  attendants 
of  the  cmicher  went  to  their  posts.  In  the  Queen's  large 
dressing-room,  besides  Monsieur's  attendants  and  those  of  the 
Comtesse  de  Provence  and  Madame  Elizabeth,  there  were 
waiting  the  women-of-the-bedchamber,  Madame  Thibault — 
the  only  person  now  in  the  secret — and  Madame  Gougenot, 
and  Desclaux  the  page-of-the-bedchamber.  A  little  before 
eleven  o'clock  the  doors  of  the  salon  were  opened  ;  the  King 
had  gone  to  his  own  room.  Monsieur  was  the  first  to  leave 
the  palace ;  his  carriage  was  waiting  for  him  under  the 
colonnade  at  the  foot  of  the  Queen's  staircase  ;  he  entered  it 
with  the  Due  de  Levis,  who  escorted  him  every  evening.^ 

the  carriage  to  the  Quay  and  stop  opposite  the  Le  Poitevin  Baths ;  that 
the  deponent  having  observed  that  he  did  not  know  the  Poitevin  Baths 
the  gentleman  he  presumed  to  be  M.  de  Fersen  said  to  him — *  Don't  you 
know  the  Pont  Royal  ? '  That  the  deponent  answered  *  ves,'  and  that 
at  once  one  of  the  three  individuals  added :  '  I  will  show  him  the  way ' ; 
that  on  arriving  at  the  said  Quay,  at  the  spot  mentioned,  the  three 
individuals  said  to  the  deponent :  *  Turn  the  carriage  .  .  .  * ;  that  they 
told  him  again  to  wait,  as  they  were  going  to  have  a  drink  ;  that  accord- 
ingly the  dejponent  saw  them  going  into  the  Rue  du  Bac.  .  .  "— Bimbenet. 
Pieces  Justi^ccUtves,  p.  10.  *  Deposition  of  Pierre  Lebas. 

2  "  It  was  not  eleven  o'clock  when  I  left  the  Tuileries,  and  I  was  very 
glad,  because  I  hoped  that  the  Due  de  L^vis,  who  usually  escorted  me 
home  every  evening,  would  not  have  arrived  :  I  wished  this  for  two 
reasons ;  first,  because  I  did  not  care  to  be  asked  questions  which,  how- 
ever irrelevant  they  were,  might  be  embarrassing :  secondly,  because  I 
was  in  the  habit  of  chatting  with  him  for  a  fairly  long  time  before  going 
to  bed,  and  I  feared  that  by  going  to  bed  at  once,  as  was  necessary,  I 
might  arouse  his  suspicions.  I  was  mistaken  in  my  expectation  ;  he  even 
called  my  attention  to  his  punctuality,  from  which  I  would  gladly  have 
exempted  him." — Monsieur's  Narrative. 

37 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

The  Comtesse  de  Provence,  leaving  in  her  turn,  was  accom- 
panied by  Madame  de  Gourbillon,  while  Madame  Elizabeth 
went  to  her  rooms  in  the  Pavilion  de  Flore  by  way  of  the 
landing  on  the  Queen'*s  staircase,  and  was  attended  by  a 
captain  of  the  National  Guard,  who  left  her  only  at  her 
own  door.  He  heard  the  bolts  drawn  within,  and  saw  that 
across  the  threshold  a  mattress  was  placed  on  which  a  chasseur 
of  the  Guard  stretched  himself  for  the  night. 

The  women-of-the-bedchamber  entered  the  Queen'*s  room 
as  soon  as  she  was  alone,  to  arrange  her  hair  for  the  night 
and  to  undress  her.^  While  they  were  thus  occupied  the 
page  Desclaux  bolted  the  doors  of  the  corridor  and  the  inner 
shutters  of  the  windows  ;  another  page,  Duperrier,  "  turned 
down  the  bedclothes.""  The  Queen  issued  her  commands  for 
the  next  day,  ordering  some  carriages  for  a  drive.  None  ot 
the  attendants  who  waited  on  her  had  any  suspicion  of  her 
anxiety,  which  must,  however,  have  been  intense,  seeing  that 
she  was  for  the  first  time  separated  from  her  son,  who  at  that 
late  hour  was  wandering  in  a  cab  at  the  mercy  of  chance, — 
wandering  in  that  terrible  city  of  Paris,  whose  wrath  she  had 
heard,  during  the  last  two  years,  muttering  round  the  walls  of 
her  palace. 

At  half  past  eleven  the  toilet  for  the  night  was  completed. 
Madame  Gougenot  helped  the  Queen  into  bed,  ordered 
Desclaux  to  put  out  the  lights,  and  retired.  She  generally 
slept,  with  her  waiting-woman  and  Madame  Thibault,  in  the 
large  dressing-room,  where  Duperrier  set  up  three  camp  bed- 
steads ;  but  this  evening  Madame  Thibault  conveyed  to 
Madame  Gougenot  an  order  from  the  queen  "  to  spend  the 
night  in  the  little  room  that  was  assigned  to  her  at  the  top 
of  the  palace."  Madame  Gougenot  obeyed,  leaving  Madame 
Thibault  alone  within  reach  of  the  Queen.^ 

In  the  King's  room  matters  were  proceeding  in  an  equally 
normal  way.  The  coucher  took  place  in  the  State  Chamber, 
according  to  the  usual  forms.  On  the  railing  of  the  bed  was 
placed  a  cushion  of  cloth  of  gold,  on  which  lay  the  night-cap 

^  Statement  of  Madame  Gougenot. — NatioTial  Archives,  D.  XXIXb,  38. 

^  Statements  of  Madame  Gougenot,  of  Jean  Antoine  Duperrier,  thirty- 
eight  years  of  age,  page  of  the  Queen's  Repository,  and  of  Louis  Jean 
Marie  Desclaux,  forty  years  of  age,  page  of  the  Queen's  bedchamber. 

38 


THE   r.ARIlIKU   OF   ST.    MARTIN    IX    1791. 


ENTRANCE  TO   THE   COURT   OF  THE   TUILERIES   IN    1791. 


THE   FLIGHT 

and  pocket-handkerchiefs;  the  white  silk  slippers  were 
standing  near ;  on  an  arm-chair  was  the  dressing-gown,  also 
white. 

The  King  came  into  the  room  at  eleven  o**clock,  handed 
his  hat  and  sword  to  the  first  gentleman-in-waiting,  and 
entered  into  conversation  with  those  who  stood  round — 
a  conversation  "  more  or  less  long  according  to  the  pleasure 
he  took  in  it."  Then  he  passed  inside  the  railing  that 
surrounded  the  bed,  repeated  a  prayer,  removed  his  coat  and 
nether  garments,  and  coming  out  again,  sat  down  in  an 
arm-chair:  whereupon  a  page-of-the-bedchamber  on  the 
right,  and  on  the  left  a  page-of-the-wardrobe,  fell  upon  their 
knees,  each  taking  in  his  hands  one  of  the  King'*s  feet,  in 
order  to  remove  the  shoes  and  stockings.  This  was  the 
signal  to  retire.  The  usher  said :  Pass  out,  Gentlemen,  and 
the  private  attendants  were  left  alone  with  His  Majesty.^ 

On  this  particular  evening  Lafayette  arrived  to  attend  the 
coucher  at  about  a  quarter  past  eleven.  The  King  was 
determined  not  to  cut  short  the  usual  conversation  :  they  spoke 
of  the  procession  for  the  Feast  of  Corpus  Christi,  which  was 
to  take  place  on  the  following  Thursday,  and  of  the  altar  that 
was  being  set  up  in  the  court  of  the  Louvre  :  but  Louis  XVI 
seemed  preoccupied,  and  went  to  the  window  several  times  to 
observe  the  weather.  The  sky  was  cloudy  :  the  night  was 
very  dark. 

At  half  past  eleven  the  ceremony  came  to  an  end  at  last, 
and  the  King,  freed  from  his  visitoi*s,  left  his  State  Chamber 
for  the  next  room — ^the  one  that  he  actually  used.  Marquant, 
the  page,  and  the  valet  Lemoine,  being  left  alone  with  him, 
helped  him  into  his  bed.  Marquant  drew  the  china-silk 
cui-tains — patterned  with  flames — that  enclosed  the  King's 
alcove,  and  left  the  room  ;  Lemoine,  who  was  to  sleep  in  the 
room,  fastened  all  the  inner  bolts  and  retired  to  an  adjoining 
dressing-room  to  undress.^  This  was  the  moment  for  which 
the  King  was  waiting.  Pushing  aside  the  curtains,  which 
closed  again  behind  him,  he  noiselessly  left  his  bed  and  slipped 
through  a  little  dressing-closet  into  the  Dauphin's  deserted 

^  Souvenir  (Tun  page  de  la  Ccmr  de  Louis  XVI,  parle  Comte  d* Hezecques. 
^  Deposition  of  Marquant.— i^a^iona^  Archives^  D.  XXIXb,  26. 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

room,  whence  he  reached  the  Queen's  entresol.  There  he  found 
ready  for  his  use  a  very  simple  costume,  a  round  hat,  and  a 
grey  peruke.  While  he  was  thus  dressing  himself  on  the 
lower  story  Lemoine  silently  returned  to  the  royal  chamber  in 
his  night-shirt,  conscientiously  fastened  to  his  arm  a  cord, 
whose  other  end  he  hooked,  as  usual,  to  the  curtain  behind 
which  he  believed  the  King  to  be  asleep,  and  laid  down 
with  his  customary  care  lest  he  should  awake  his  master.^ 

In  the  meantime  the  old  hackney-coach  in  which  Fersen, 
disguised  as  a  coachman,  was  carrying  off  "  the  children  of 
France,"  had  passed  without  misadventure  through  the 
carters'-gate  of  the  Royal  Court.  Fersen  drove  it  to  the 
quay ,2  and,  turning  to  the  right,  passed  along  the  deserted 
Quai  des  Tuileries  at  a  very  quiet  pace,  crossed  the  Place 
Louis  XV,  and  then,  being  certain  that  he  had  not  been 
followed,  returned  by  the  Rue  Saint  Honore  as  far  as  the 
Rue  de  FEchelle,  where  he  drew  up  before  the  door  of  a 
private  hotel  called  the  Hotel  du  Gaillarbois.  It  was  there 
that  the  King,  the  Queen,  and  Madame  Elizabeth,  if  they 
succeeded  in  leaving  the  palace,  were  to  look  for  him.  The 
time  must  have  been  about  a  quarter  past  eleven,  for 
Lafayette,  coming  from  the  Hotel  de  Noailles  in  the  Rue 
Saint  Honore  on  his  way  to  the  voucher,  passed  at  this 
moment,  escorted  by  his  torch-bearers,  in  the  Rue  de 
FEchelle.  Madame  Royale  recognised  the  carriage,  and 
Madame  de  Tourzel,  in  a  panic,  hid  the  Dauphin  among  her 
petticoats.  The  poor  child  said  afterwards  "that  he  had 
believed,  when  he  was  hidden  in  this  way,  that  he  was  being 
saved  from  some  people  who  wanted  to  kill  him." 

The  Hotel  du  Gaillarbois  stood  almost  at  the  corner  of  a 
narrow  Square  called  the  Petit  Carrousel,  a  space  somewhat 
elongated  in  shape,  surrounded  by  high  houses.  Here,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  Hotel  de  Brionne  and  the  Hotel  de  la  Valliere,  which 
adjoined  the  courts  of  the  Tuileries,  was  the  old  gateway  of 

1  Relation  du  depart  de  Louis  X  VI.    By  the  Due  de  Choiseul. 

2  "  In  order  to  give  the  King  time  to  arrive  we  went  for  a  drive  on  the 
quays,  and  came  back  by  the  Rue  St.  Honor6,  to  await  the  royal  family 
opposite  the  house  called  at  that  time  the  Hotel  Gaillarbois." — Mdmoires 
de  Madame  de  Tourzel. 

40 


THE  FLIGHT 

the  King's  stables,  on  whose  pediment  a  gi'oiip  of  horses  was 
carved  in  the  blackened  and  broken  stone.^  This  spot  was 
constantly  crowded  with  cabs  in  rank,  with  coachmen, 
portei-s,  and  ostlers ;  it  was  the  region  of  harness-makers  and 
saddlers.  The  shop  of  the  saddler  Ronsin  was  here.^  The 
neighbourhood  of  the  royal  stables  attracted  quite  a  special 
class  of  clients  to  the  taverns  of  the  Petit  Carrousel. 

Fersen,  growing  uneasy  at  the  prolonged  delay,  had  left 
his  seat  and  "  was  walking  round  and  round  the  carriage  like 
a  man  who  is  examining  his  horses."  He  was  so  well 
disguised  that  a  cab-driver,  taking  him  for  one  of  his  own 
profession,  entered  into  conversation  with  him.  Fersen  had 
the  presence  of  mind  to  keep  it  up  "  in  the  slang  of  the 
livery  stables,"  and  rid  himself  of  his  interlocutor  by  offering 
him  a  pinch  of  snuff  from  a  shabby  snuff-box  with  which  he 
had  had  the  forethought  to  supply  himself.^ 

And  now  the  carriages  were  filing  out  of  the  palace  courts ; 
the  coucher  was  over.  The  passers-by  were  becoming  fewer. 
Fersen  was  in  agonies :  what  should  he  do  if  the  King  and 
Queen  did  not  succeed  in  leaving  the  Tuileries  ?  How,  in 
that  case,  would  it  be  possible  at  dead  of  night  to  restore  the 
Prince  Royal  and  his  sister  to  the  palace.?  While  he  was 
meditating  thus,  standing  at  his  horses'  heads — the  carriage 
had  been  waiting  there  for  thi-ee-quarters  of  an  hour — he 
became  aware  of  a  woman  sitting  on  a  stone  bench  at  the 
door  of  the  Hotel  de  la  Valliere,  and  thought  he  recognised 
Madame  Elizabeth.  He  drew  near  and  found  that  it  was 
indeed  the  Princess,  who  had  been  brought  to  the  spot  by  one 
of  her  equerries,  M.  de  Saint  Pardoux.  She  was  dressed  in 
a  dark  gown,  and  wore  a  wide  grey  hat  trimmed  with  gauze 
that  fell  round  it  like  a  veil.  Fersen  went  up  to  her, 
"walking  as  though  he  were  merely  sauntering  past,"  and 
said  in  a  low  voice :  "  They  are  waiting  for  you."  Either 
because  she  did  not  hear,  or  because  she  feared  to  make  a 
mistake,  the  P*rincess  remained  on  the  bench.  Fersen 
repeated   the   words    as    he    again    passed   by,   whereupon 

^  Thierry.     Guide  du  Voyageur,  1787. 

2  Relation  du  ddpart  de  L(mi»  X  VI.     By  the  Due  do  Choiseul. 
*  Narrative  of  Fontanges.     Madame  de  Tourzel  notes  an  almost  similar 
fact. 

41 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

Madame  Elizabeth  rose  and  went  to  take  her  place  in  the 
carriage.^  She  at  once  allayed  the  anxiety  of  the  governess 
and  Madame  Royale :  no  one  in  the  palace  had  any  suspicion 
of  their  flight;  the  King  and  Queen  were  following  her. 
They  soon  appeared :  first  the  King,  accompanied  by  M.  de 
Maiden,  who  wore  a  great-coat  over  his  livery.  Fersen 
opened  the  door,  and  the  King  settled  down  with  much 
satisfaction.  He  had  crossed  the  courts,  cane  in  hand, 
without  being  noticed  by  the  soldiers  who  were  walking 
about,  and  had  even,  on  its  becoming  unfastened,  calmly 
rebuckled  his  shoe.  His  costume,  however,  was  a  very  slight 
disguise  :  over  his  brown  coat  he  had  drawn  a  riding-coat  of 
bottle-green,  for  the  night  was  chilly.^  Soon  afterwards  the 
Queen  arrived,  last  of  all :  they  made  room  for  her,  joyfully  ; 
Fersen  mounted  the  box  and  Maiden  climbed  up  behind  the 
carriage.  Then  they  drove  off,  greatly  pressed  for  room. 
At  the  first  turning  there  was  an  exchange  of  caresses,  while 
the  Queen  recounted  the  incidents  of  her  escape.  The 
gentleman  who  accompanied  her  ^  did  not  know  the  way  to 
the  Petit  Carrousel,  and  was  obliged  to  ask  it  of  the  mounted 
sentinel  of  the  Guard,  on  duty  at  the  gate  of  the  Royal 
Court.  Then  she  also  had  met  Lafayette.  After  the  King's 
coitcJwr,  the  general  had  spent  a  long  time  in  inspecting  the 
Guard,  and  as  his  carriage  turned  towards  the  quay  it  passed 
so  close  to  the  Queen  that  she  was  able  to  strike  the  wheels 
with  her  switch.  She  wore  a  dress  of  grey  silk,  a  short  black 
cloak,  and  a  black  hat  with  a  wide  falling  veil.* 

Meanwhile  the  carriage  was  rolling  through  the  streets. 
The  night  was  dark,  but  in  spite  of  this  the  King  perceived 
that  they  were  in  the  Rue  Sainte  Anne.  This  was  not  the 
way  to  the  Barrier  of  Saint  Martin,  and  he  became  uneasy. 

^  Choiseul's  Narrative. 

2  Statement  of  M.  de  Maiden.     Bimbenet.     Pieces  Justijicatives,  p.  96. 

8  Fersen  says:  **M.  de  .  .  .  ."  (Klinckowstrom,  ii.  7).  The  name  was 
never  given.  Was  this  the  unknown  who  had  already  in  the  course  of  that 
evening  introduced  the  bodyguards  into  the  palace,  and  accompanied 
Madame  Neuville  and  Madame  Brunier  to  the  Quai  d'Orsay  ?  It  is  not 
very  likely.  A  man  who  knew  the  ins  and  outs  of  the  palace  so  well  would 
not  have  been  obliged  to  ask  his  way  to  the  Petit  Carrousel. 

^  MSmoires  de  Madame  de  Tourzel.  See  also  Bimbinet,  Pidces  Justijica- 
tives, pp.  73-90.  "The  Queen  had  a  grey  hat,"  says  Choiseul,  Narrative, 
p.  50. 


FRAXyOIS  FLORENT   DE  V.VLORY. 

From  a  Miniature  in  M.  Bernard  Franck's  Collection. 


[See  p.  267. 


THE    FLIGHT 

Instead  of  turning  to  the  right  over  the  boulevard,  as  the 
travellers  expected,  the  carriage  passed  into  the  Chaussee 
d'Antin ;  and  presently  it  stopped.  This  was  in  the  Rue  de 
Clichy,  not  far  from  the  Jardin  Boutin,  which  the  Queen  had 
visited  during  the  day.  Fersen  sprang  to  the  ground,  and 
knocked  at  the  door  of  a  house  on  the  left.  It  was  Craw- 
furd''s  house,  and  Fersen,  fearing  lest  his  instructions  should 
have  been  misunderstood,  wished  to  make  sure  that  the  berline, 
which  had  been  in  Crawfurd''s  coach-house  in  the  afternoon, 
had  left  it  at  the  appointed  time.  The  hall-porter  told  him 
that  the  carriage  was  no  longer  there,  and  Fersen,  reassured 
once  more  mounted  the  box. 

The  fugitives,  who  did  not  know  the  object  of  this  digres- 
sion, bewildered  themselves  with  conjectures,  but  dared  not 
ask  questions  of  their  driver.  It  was  a  long  way  to  the 
Barrier  of  Saint  Martin :  Paris  seemed  to  be  limitless.^  It 
was  two  o'clock  before  they  came  in  sight  of  the  high  new 
rotunda  of  the  custom-house  building,-  where  they  saw  lights  ^ 
and  heai-d  sounds  of  laughing  and  dancing,  for  there  was 
a  wedding  at  the  clerk\s  house.  They  drove  through  the 
gate.  Now  they  were  on  the  open  road,  and  very  desolate  it 
was ;  for  though  the  moon  was  shining  behind  the  clouds  it 
was  a  black  night,  and  the  sky  was  veiled.  Fersen  stopped 
the  carriage  :  the  berline  was  not  there.  .  .  .  This  was  a  new 
torture ;  and  this  time  the  King  insisted  on  leaving  the  car- 
riage in  spite  of  all  remonstrances  to  question  Fersen,  who 
was  growing  uneasy.*  Were  their  plans  going  to  miscarry 
after  all  ?  They  wasted  a  quarter  of  an  hour  in  hesitation  ; 
then  Fersen,  going  further  along  the  road,  discovered  the 
berline  with  its  four  horses  drawn  up  beside  the  ditch,  its 

*  A  glance  at  a  map  of  the  period  is  enough  to  make  it  plain  that  unless 
they  left  Paris  by  the  Barrier  of  Clichy,  as  they  certainly  did  not,  the 
travellers  must  have  gone  down  again  to  the  Boulevard  and  have  kept  to 
it  until  they  reached  the  gate  of  Saint  Martin.  No  other  road  led  trans- 
versely from  the  Rue  de  Clichy  to  the  Barrier  of  La  Villette. 

2  This  is  the  rotunda  that  is  still  standing,  and  serves  at  the  present  day 
as  a  store  for  the  custom-house. 
^  Mimoires  de  Madame  de  Tourzel. 

*  "There  was  a  stage-coach  there  in  which  we  were  to  travel.  M.  de 
Fersen  did  not  know  whereabouts  it  was.  We  had  to  wait  there  a  long 
time,  and  my  father  even  got  out  of  the  carriage,  which  made  us  very 
anxious." — Madame  Royale's  Narrative. 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

lights  out,  Moustier  on  the  box,  Balthazar  in  the  saddle,  both 
of  them  having  been  motionless  and  silent  for  the  last  hour 
and  a  half.  Valory,  on  the  fifth  horse,  had  gone  on  to  Bondy 
to  see  about  the  relay  of  horses.^ 

The  carriages  were  quickly  placed  door  to  door :  the  royal 
family  were  installed  in  the  spacious  berline,  which  was  closely 
shut ;  Fersen,  leaving  the  cab  and  the  two  horses  at  the  edge 
of  the  ditch,  took  his  place  on  the  box  between  Moustier  and 
Maiden,  and  the  carriage  dashed  off  along  the  road  at  the  full 
speed  of  its  four  horses.  It  was  about  half  past  two.  Exactly 
above  the  crown  of  the  road,  which  cut  the  desolate  landscape 
in  two  with  its  wide,  straight  line,  the  clouds  on  the  horizon 
were  already  tinged  with  light  from  the  first  rays  of  the  dawn. 
Soon  Paris  would  awake,  and  Fersen,  feeling  the  value  of 
every  minute,  spurred  his  postillion  on  : — "  Courage,  Balt- 
hazar !  Quicker — ^put  the  pace  on  !  Get  on !  Come,  come, 
your  horses  are  not  in  condition ;  they  can  rest  when 
they  get  back  to  barracks."  And  Balthazar,  worthy  man, 
thinking  to  himself  "  that  since  the  horses  belonged  to  M.  le 
Comte  he  was  risking  nothing  in  driving  them  at  his  master's 
pace,""  tortured  them  with  whip  and  spur.^  In  less  than  half 
an  hour  the  carriage  was  at  Bondy :  beyond  the  sunk-fences 
of  the  castle  on  the  left  the  glades  of  the  park  could  be  seen  : 

^  Statement  of  Balthazar  Sapel,  M.  de  Fersen's  coachman.  "  The  two 
individuals  (Valory  and  Moustier)  and  the  deponent  arrived  at  the  barrier 
(bringing  the  berline,  which  they  had  found  at  Crawford's  house)  at  about 
half -past  twelve  at  night,  or  one  o'clock  in  the  morning  ;  the  deponent 
wished  to  enter  into  conversation  with  the  said  individuals,  and  taking 
them  for  servants  he  said  to  them  :  '  Comrades,  who  can  your  employers 
be  ?  They  seem  very  rich  ! '  To  this  question,  which  seemed  to  surprise 
them,  they  answered  :  '  You  will  be  told  by  and  bye,  comrade.'  The  one 
who  was  on  the  saddle-horse  asked  the  deponent  which  was  the  road  to 
Bondy,  upon  which  the  deponent  asked  the  said  individual  where  he  was 
going,  and  the  said  individual  answered  that  they  were  going  in  the 
direction  of  Frankfort  in  Germany ;  the  deponent  observed  that  he  did  not 
know  where  Bondy  was,  but  thought  the  road  they  were  on  was  the  right 
one.  A  quarter  of  an  hour  later  the  said  individual  (Valory)  started  for 
Bondy  on  the  saddle-horse.  As  for  the  deponent,  he  had  waited  at  the  said 
barrier  for  an  hour  and  a  half  or  two  hours,  with  the  other  individual 
(Moustier)  who  was  seated  on  the  coachman's  box.  States  that  during  the 
hour  and  a  half  or  two  hours  that  he  waited  no  kind  of  conversation  passed 
between  the  said  individual  and  the  deponent,  and  that  each  of  them 
remained  in  his  own  place,  one  on  the  coachman's  box  and  the  other  on  the 
postillion's  horse." — Bimbinet.     Pieces  Justificatives^  p.  60. 

2  Statement  of  Balthazar  Sapel. 

44 


THE   FLIGHT 

and  then  in  a  moment  the  carriage  came  to  a  standstill  before 
the  great  posting-house. 

Valory,  who  had  amved  an  hour  earlier,  had  ordered  eiglit 
horses,  which  stood  waiting  in  their  harness :  six  carriage- 
horses  for  the  berline,  and  two  riding  horses  for  himself  and 
Maiden.  While  the  ostlers  were  unconcernedly  leading  the 
animals  from  the  stable  in  the  faint  light  of  the  dawn,  Fersen 
drew  near  the  carriage  door.  His  intention  was  to  reach  Le 
Bourget  and  the  highway  to  Belgium  by  the  cross-country 
roads,  on  the  horse  that  had  carried  Valory ;  then  in  two  days 
he  would  join  the  travellers  at  Montmedy.  When  the  pos- 
tillions were  in  the  saddle,  awaiting  only  the  word  to  start, 
he  drew  back  from  the  carriage,  raising  his  hat. 

"  Goodbye,  Madam  Koi-fF,''  he  said.^ 

For  the  Queen  was  to  travel  under  the  name  of  that 
Russian  Baroness,  a  friend  of  Fersen'*s ;  and  the  passport 
mentioned,  in  addition  to  the  lady  hei*self,  two  children,  a 
woman,  a  valet,  and  three  servants  ;  ^  which  accounted  for  the 

*  Idem. 

'^  These  are  the  terras  in  which  M.  de  Simolin,  the  Russian  Ambassador, 
informed  his  Government  of  the  incident  of  the  passport:  *' During  the 
first  few  days  of  the  present  month  Matlarae  KortF  asked  mo,  through  a 
third  person,  to  obtain  two  separate  passports  for  her,  one  for  herself  and 
the  other  for  her  mother,  Madame  Stegleman,  that  they  might  go  to  Frank- 
fort. I  made  the  recjuest  to  M.  de  Montmorin  in  a  note,  and  he  had  them 
sent  to  me  at  once.  A  few  days  later  a  message  came  from  Madame  Korif 
to  say  that  when  burning  various  useless  papers  she  had  been  so  careless  as 
to  throw  her  passix)rt  into  the  fire,  and  to  bog  mo  to  obtain  a  duplicate  for 
her.  I  asked  for  it  on  that  same  day,  and  fastened  her  note  to  the  one  I 
wrote  myself  to  the  secretary  whose  business  it  was  to  send  out  passports, 
who  replaced  the  passport  that  was  said  to  be  burnt." 

M.  de  Simolin  fastened  to  his  report  a  copy  of  Madame  de  Korff  s  note, 
which  ran  thus  :  "I  am  grievously  distressed.  Yesterday,  when  burning 
various  useless  papers,  I  was  so  careless  as  to  throw  into  the  fire  the  pass- 
port that  you  were  so  kind  as  to  procure  for  me.  I  am  really  ashamed  of 
asking  you  to  repair  my  heedlessness,  and  of  the  inconvenience  that  I  am 
causing  you." 

M.  (le  Simolin,  having  made  a  kind  of  apology  to  M.  de  Montmorin  for 
involuntarily  contributing  to  the  King's  flight  by  providing  a  duplicate  of 
which  an  indiscreet  use  had  been  made,  received  from  the  vice-Chancellor, 
the  Comte  d'Ostermann,  a  severe  reprimand  :  "I  must  first  observe  to  you 
that  the  Empress  would  have  desired,  in  the  present  state  of  affairs,  which 
certainly  demands  special  attention  from  every  monarch,  that  you  should 
have  determined  to  wait  for  instructions  from  here,  rather  than  enter  into 
any  kind  of  correspondence  with  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  over  there, 
who,  after  the  departure  of  the  King  to  whom  alone  you  were  accredited, 
was  no  longer  supposed  to  have  any  plenary  power  to  treat  with  you. 

45 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

presence  of  Madame  Elizabeth  and  Mesdames  Neuville  and 
Brunier,  who  were  found  at  the  posting  house  at  Claye,  the 
next  stage,  at  about  half  past  four  in  the  morning.  They 
had  been  waiting  there  since  two  o'clock,  and  thought  they 
were  stranded  without  resources.  It  was  now  daylight,  A 
fresh  team  was  supplied  for  the  berline,  and  three  horses  were 
harnessed  to  the  cabriolet  of  the  women-of-the-bedchamber, 
which  started  after  Valory — who  was  despatched  as  an  out- 
rider— and  preceded  the  berline,  by  the  door  of  which  Maiden 
was  riding.  Moustier,  who  was  extremely  short-sighted,^  was 
to  remain  on  the  box. 

Now  that  Bondy  was  passed  they  began  to  feel  confident 
of  success,  and  arranged  among  themselves  the  parts  they 
were  to  play.  It  was  agreed  that  Madame  de  Tourzel  should  be 
the  mistress,  and  the  Queen  should  be  the  governess,  with  the 
name  of  Madame  Rochet :  the  King  was  the  steward  Durand, 
Madame  Elizabeth  the  companion  Rosalie,  the  Dauphin  and 
Madame  Royale  two  little  girls,  Amelie  and  Aglae.  It  was 
all,  however,  the  merest  game :  when  the  critical  moment 
came  not  one  of  them  thought  of  playing  the  right  part.     But 

Moreover,  her  Majesty  disapproves  of  the  kind  of  defence  that  you  thought 
fit  to  make  to  M.  de  Montmorin  on  the  subject  of  the  passport  for  which 
you  asked  him,  in  which  you  described  the  use  that  was  made  of  it  when 
it  was  given  to  the  King,  as  indiscreet.  So  little  does  this  epithet  apply  to 
the  case  in  point,  that  if  you  had  actually  procured  a  similar  passport  with 
the  deliberate  intention  of  serving  the  Most  Christian  King,  and  of  thus 
contributing  to  his  safety,  such  a  step  would  have  been  in  every  respect 
pleasing  to  her  Imperial  Majesty. 

"  At  the  same  time  her  Imperial  Majesty  enjoins  upon  you.  Monsieur,  to 
conform  your  conduct  to  that  of  those  foreign  ambassadors  and  ministers  in 
Paris  who  are  showing  themselves  most  attached  to  the  King,  not  even 
refusing  to  make  common  cause  with  them  in  anything  that  they  think  it 
advisable  to  undertake  in  the  support  of  his  Most  Christian  Majesty. 

'*  If,  however,  disorder  and  anarchy  were  to  continue  in  France,  the 
Empress  would  permit  you  to  leave  France  on  some  suitable  pretext,  and 
to  retire,  temporarily,  to  some  German  State." 

Simolin  answered  this  homily  in  a  very  humble  letter,  regretting  **  the 
epithet  of  which  her  Imperial  Majesty  disapproved,  for  which  I  beg  her 
pardon.  I  dare  to  hope  that  if  your  Excellency  will  be  good  enough  to 
bring  to  her  notice  the  circumstances  in  which  I  was  placed,  she  will  deign 
to  excuse  and  pardon  the  step  I  took.  I  count  too  much  upon  her  justice 
and  generosity  of  soul  not  to  feel  confident  of  absolute  success." — Imperial 
Archives  of  Moscow. 

1  De  Moustier  had  "such  extraordinarily  short"  sight  that  he  professes 
in  his  answers  in  the  Examination  of  July  7  not  to  have  seen  "  how  many 
horses  there  were  to  the  berline." — Bimbenet,  Pieces  JustiJicativeSf  p.  108. 

46 


"\ 


THE   FLIGHT 

for  the  last  two  years  these  poor  people  had  lived  in  such  a 
state  of  oppression  and  servitude  that  they  seemed  to  have 
thought  at  the  da^vning  of  this  day  of  June,  that  their  burden 
was  laid  down  and  their  freedom  assured.  One  comes  across 
one  or  two  passages  in  the  various  accounts  that  give  the 
impression  of  a  party  starting  on  a  holiday,  so  nearly  joyous 
were  they,  so  full  of  illusions.  The  King  declared  briskly 
that  "  once  he  got  his  leg  over  a  horse  he  would  be  another 
man.^"  Then  they  spoke  of  the  journey.  Their  way  lay 
through  but  one  important  town,  Chalons  :  if  this  were  passed 
without  misadventure  their  safety  was  assured,  for  four  leagues 
further  on,  at  Pont-de-Somme-Vesle,  they  would  meet  M.  de 
Choiseul  with  his  hussars,  and  at  Sainte-Menehould  and 
Clermont,  the  two  following  stages,  M.  de  Damas  would  be 
waiting  with  his  dragoons.  At  Clermont  they  would  leave 
the  highway  to  take  the  cross-road  to  Stenay,  by  Varennes 
and  Dun,  little  country-towns  without  any  post-service — sure 
to  be  fast  asleep — where  M.  de  Bouille  had  ordered  fresh 
horses  to  be  ready,  and  had  quartered  detachments  of 
cavalry. 

A  little  after  six  o*'  clock  they  reached  Meaux.  The  post- 
ing-house was  in  the  Square  of  Saint  l^tienne,  nearly  opposite 
to  the  Bishop's  Palace.  Here  nothing  occurred :  the  eleven 
horses  were  ready  in  a  few  moments  and  they  continued  their 
journey  without  delay.  Having  passed  Meaux  they  "  attacked 
the  provisions."  The  princesses  had  removed  their  veils; 
they  ate  "  without  plates  or  forks,  on  pieces  of  bread,  after 
the  manner  of  sportsmen  or  economical  travellers.'"' ^  The 
Queen  called  Maiden  and  "  offered  him  food  and  drink,"  at 
the  same  time  telling  him  of  an  observation  made  by  the 
King :  "  M.  de  Lafayette,  at  this  moment,  does  not  know 
what  to  do  with  himself."  The  road,  with  its  four  rows  of 
trees,  ^  was  magnificent,  the  heat  was  tolerable,  the  berline 
was  easy  and  well  padded.  It  was  a  wide,  high  carriage, 
simple  enough  in  appearance,  with  the  body  painted  dark 
yellow  and   the  wheels  and  frame  lemon-colour,  the  inside 

1  Madame  de  TourzePa  Mdmoires. 

'  Moustier's  Narrative. 

3  llin^aire  comjilet  du  royaume  de  France, 

4n 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

upholstered  in  white  Utrecht  velvet,  and  the  blinds  made  of 
bottle-green   taffeta.     The   lockers    contained,    besides    the 


notre-dame-de-l'epine. 


provisions,  a  dressing-case  of  silver,  and  various  necessaries 
for  the  toilet.^ 

^  A  minutely  detailed  description  of  this  famous  carriage  will  be  found 
in  the  second  edition  of  the  Fuite  de  Louis  XFl,  by  Bimbenet. — Pieces 
Jtistificatives,  p.  144  et  seq. 

Dazzling  descriptions  have  been  given  of  this  berline,  and  Mercier 
says  somewhere  "that  it  was  an  epitome  of  the  Palace  of  Versailles, 
lacking  nothing  but  the  chapel  and  the  orchestra.  There  is,  moreover,  a 
generally  accepted  tradition  that  the  unwonted  splendour  of  the  carriage 

48 


THE  FLIGHT 

At  about  eight  o'clock  the  fugitives  passed  through  La 
Ferte-sous-Jouarre.  There  they  left  the  Dormans  road, 
which  was  too  hilly,  for  that  of  Montmirail,  which  was 
shorter  by  two  leagues  and  a  half  and  had  but  one 
ascent.     The  posting-houses  were  at  Bussieres,  Vieux-Maison 

where  the  King   was   recognised   by   a   postillion   named 

Francois  Picard,  who  said  nothing  of  it  until  the  next  day  ^ — 
and  Montmirail,  which  was  reached  at  eleven  oVlock. 
Fromentieres  ^  was  passed  three  leagues  further  on  at  midday 
and  three  leagues  beyond  that  was  the  toNvn  of  Etoges.  At 
each  stopping-place  the  King  thrust  his  hand  into  a  bag  and 
gave  the  wages  of  the  postillions  to  Valory. 

Up  to  this  point  the  road  had  been  traversed  at  the  very 
modest  pace  of  under  three  leagues  an  hour,  and  safety 
seemed  certain.  The  travellers,  however,  had  been  somewhat 
disturbed  by  a  hoi*seman  who  persistently  followed  the 
carriage;^  but  he  disappeared  and  they  thought  no  more 
about  him.  The  King  interested  himself  in  the  route,  and 
did  not  put  down  his  Itinerary  for  a  moment.  At  one  of  the 
posting-houses  he  left  the  carriage,*  sauntered  into  a  stable, 
and  came  out  of  it  again  without  having  said  a  word  to  any- 
one; at  another  he  again  alighted,  and  was  instantly  sur- 
rounded by  the  beggars  who  hung  about  the  precincts  of  the 

contributed  much  towards  the  arrest  of  the  travellers.  This  is  a  mistake  : 
the  berline  was  comfortable  but  simple.  Madame  de  Tourzel,  in  a  manu- 
script note  (M.  G.  Cain's  collection)  says: — "There  was  nothing  extra- 
ordinary about  the  King's  carriage ;  it  was  a  large  berline,  similar  to  my 
own  :  it  had  only  been  built  with  greater  care,  and  was  fitted  up  inside 
with  a  greater  number  of  conveniences." 

In  the  diaries  of  Comparot  de  Longsols,  published  in  extracts  in 
UAnnuaire  de  VAube  (1898)  by  the  Abbe  Etienne  Georges,  we  find  this 
note : — "  Wed.  28th  Jan.,  1795.  We  hear  that  during  the  night  of  the 
5th-6th  of  Pluviose  the  Dijon  diligence  took  fire  :  it  is  suspected  that  some 
coals  in  the  foot- warmer  of  a  ladv-passenger  were  the  cause  of  it ;  it  is  the 
same  carriage  that  was  used  by  the  last  King  for  his  flight,  and  in  it  he  was 
stopped  at  Varennes." — (Communicated  by  M.  Berthelin.) 

1  National  Archives,  D.  XXIX,  37. 

2  "  The  posting-house  (of  Fromentieres)  is  still  there,  at  the  end  of  the 
village.  You  will  easily  recognise  it.  It  is  the  last  house  on  the  left. 
Above  the  door  swings  the  sign-board,  on  which  time  has  left  legible  the 
words  :  A  la  paste.  I^neath  it,  fixed  upon  the  wall,  is  another  sign-board, 
but  a  more  recent  one,  the  badge  of  the  T.C.F.  {Touring  Club  de  France). 
A  drinking- trough,  fixed  to  the  wall,  completes  the  picture." — La  Route  de 
Louis  XVI  a  un  si^cle  de  distance,  by  A.  Schelcher. 

3  Madame  Royale's  Narrative.  ^  Moustier's  Narrative. 

49  £ 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

posting-houses  with  the  object  of  rousing  the  pity  of  travellers. 
When  Moustier  attempted  to  "hide  the  King,"  the  latter 
said  to  him  :  "  I  do  not  think  that  is  necessary  any  longer ; 
my  journey  seems  to  me  now  to  be  safe  from  all  accidents."  ^ 
This  incident  must  have  taken  place  at  Fromentieres,  for 
Valory  recounts  that  at  one  of  the  posting-houses,  at  about 
eleven  o'clock  or  midday^  he  saw  the  King  standing  for  a  long 
time  outside  the  carriage,  "  chatting  with  a  number  of  people 
who  stood  round  him,  and  talking  to  the  passers-by  about  the 
crops.""  2  As  for  Madame  de  Tourzel,  she  suggested  giving  the 
children  some  fresh  air  by  walking  with  them,  "  while  the 
postillions  were  mounting  a  long  hill  at  a  foot's  pace" — 
doubtless  the  hill  in  the  woods  of  Moras,  at  a  distance  of  one 
league  from  La  Ferte-sous-Jouarre.  The  King  determined  to 
walk  with  them,  and  Maiden  helped  him  to  alight  and  to  get 
into  the  berline  again. 

Chaintrix,  where  they  stopped  at  half-past  two  in  the  heat 
of  the  day,  was  a  hamlet  "  of  about  fifteen  hearths."  ^  The 
road,  which  had  been  lately  built  on  a  strong  embankment 
across  the  marshy  lands  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Somme- 
Soude,  "was  bordered  by  three  houses  only  " ;  a  tavern,  Nicolas 
Petifs  forge,  quite  close  to  the  bridge  that  crossed  the  river,  and 
the  posting-house,  the  first  building  passed  on  the  left  in 
coming  from  Paris.*  This  was  called  "  the  posting-house  of 
Le  Petit  Chaintry." 

The  postmaster,  Jean  Baptiste  de  Lagny,  was  a  man  of 
about  fifty  years  of  age.  He  had  filled  the  office  since  1785, 
the  date  of  the  construction  of  the  new  road,  having  formerly 
been  a  labourer  and  the  owner  of  a  farm  and  tavern^  at 
Bierges,  through  which  place  the  old  high  road  to  Paris  lay. 

^  Moustier's  Narrative. 

2  Examination  of  the  Sieur  Valory. — Bimbenot,  Pieces  Jvsti/iccUivea, 
p.  115. 

3  Communicated  by  M.  Oct.  Maurice,  road-surveyor  at  Chaintrix, 
corresponding  member  of  the  Academical  Society  of  the  Marne. 

•*  Idem.  The  buildings  of  the  old  posting-house  are  still  standing. 
Since  1791  houses  have  sprung  up  on  each  side  of  the  road  ;  it  is  now  the 
most  interesting  and  most  important  group  in  the  village. — (Communicated 
by  M.  Maurice.) 

^  One  of  his  uncles,  Claude  de  Lagny,  a  hotel-keeper  at  Bierges  in  1697, 
had  had  his  "canting  arms"  registered  —  :  Az:  onalakearrj:  a  sheaj 
ert,  surmounted  by  a  bird's  nest  sa  : 

50 


POSTING! -HOUSE   AT    I'ONT-DE-SOMMK-VESLE, 


utv-^' 


THE   ROYAL   BERLINE. 


E   FLIGHT 

De  Lagny  had  been  a  widower  ^  since  1788,  and  was  living  in 
1791  with  his  three  daughters.  The  eldest,  Marie  Rose,  had 
passed  her  twenty-first  year,  the  third  was  a  little  girl  of 
thirteen ;  while  the  second,  Marie  Anne,  had  lately  married 
in  February,  Gabriel  Vallet,  the  son  of  the  landlord  at  the 
Crokc  (TOr,  at  Vitry-le-Franyois.  Gabriel,  although  he  was  a 
minor  at  the  time  of  his  mari'iage,  was  a  shrewd  youth.  He 
had  gone  during  the  preceding  yeai*  from  Vitry  to  Paris,  to 
celebrate  the  Federation  ;  he  happened  to  be  with  his  father- 
in-law,  de  J.,agny,  at  the  posting-house  of  Le  Petit  Chaintrix, 
on  the  day  that  the  royal  berline  passed  by,  and  no  sooner  had 
he  observed  the  travellers  than  he  recognised  them.  Great 
was  the  excitement !  De  Lagny  hurried  out  with  his  three 
daughtei*s,  and  the  King  and  Queen,  thinking  that  conceal- 
ment was  unnecessary  so  far  from  Paris,  accepted  their  homage 
all  the  more  willingly  that  the  Dauphin  and  his  sister  were 
worn  out  with  fatigue  and  heat,  and  were  in  need  of  atten- 
tion. The  travellers  refreshed  themselves  at  their  leisure. 
De  Lagny  and  his  daughtei-s  showed  them  the  greatest 
respect,  zeal,  and  devotion ;  and  when  the  King  wished  to 
acknowledge  their  services,  de  Lagny  implored  to  be  allowed 
to  decline  all  remuneration,  which  so  much  touched  the  Queen 
that  she  took  from  her  lUcessaire  two  silver  bowls,  which 
Madame  de  Tour/el  gave  in  her  name  to  the  postmaster.^ 
While  Madame  Vallet  was  bestirring  herself  with  her  two 

^  His  wife's  name  was  Marie  Anne  Tartior. 

'^  These  two  bowls  are    still    preserved  by  the  existing  descendants 
of  Jean  de  Lagny ;  one  is  at  Vitry-le-Frangois ;  it  has  the  King's  mono- 
gram on  the  bottom :   two  L's  interlaced ;   the  handles  are  covered  with 
delicate  ornamentation.     The  other  bowl,  which  is  in  Paris,  is  simpler,  but ' 
of  the  same  shape. 

This  solid  evidence,  together  with  the  perfectly  clear  tradition  that  has 
been  handed  down  in   tne  family,  leaves  no  room  for  doubt  as  to  the 


fugitives  having  stopped   at  Chaintrix,  or  of  the  fact  that  they   were 

'     '  'jy  all 

then  arises  for  which  we  have  no  answer.     Of  the  eleven  persons  who 


recognised  by  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  posting-house  ;   but  a  question 


travelled  in  the  berline  and  the  cabriolet,  eight  have  described,  either 
in  detailed  narratives  or  in  answer  to  minute  examinations,  every  little 
incident  of  the  journey :  iwt  one  makes  any  allusion  to  the  stop  at 
Chaintrix  or  to  the  eagerness  and  zeal  of  the  do  Lagny  family.  Madame 
Royale,  who  had  a  personal  interest  in  remembering  the  circumstances, 
simply  observes : — **  At  fitoges  we  thought  we  were  recognised  :  at  four 
o'clock  we  passed  the  large  town  of  Ch^lons-sur-Mame :  there  we  were 
perfectly  well  recognised.  Many  of  the  people  thanked  God  when  they 
saw  the  King."     But  of  Chaintrix  not  a  word. 

51  Eg 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

sisters,  her  husband  was  attending  to  the  changing  of  the 
horses.  He  would  not  trust  any  mere  postillion  with  the 
responsibility  of  conducting  these  august  patrons,  but  himself 
mounted  to  the  saddle,  and  when  the  children  were  somewhat 
rested  and  refreshed  the  berline  moved  away  amid  an  exchange 
of  salutations,  good  wishes,  and  thanks.  It  is  very  improbable 
that  the  news  of  such  an  amazing  incident  should  not  have 
spread  to  a  certain  extent  among  the  ostlers  who  were  present 
at  the  change  of  horses.  It  is  at  all  events  certain  that  from 
the  moment  they  left  Chaintrix  the  identity  of  the  travellers 
was  known ;  they  were  driven  by  a  young  man  in  possession 
of  the  terrible  secret,  who,  being  more  zealous  than  prudent, 
kept  up  a  pace  so  reckless  that  in  the  course  of  the  five 
leagues  of  perfectly  straight  road  between  Chaintrix  and 
Chalons  the  horses  fell  down  twice.^ 

At  last,  at  a  little  after  four  o''clock,  they  entered  Chalons 
by  the  suburb  of  Marne.  The  two  carriages  and  their  out- 
riders passed  through  the  Rue  de  Marne,  the  Place  de  Ville, 
and  the  Rue  Saint  Jacques.  Twenty-one  years  earlier  Marie 
Antoinette  had  crossed  Chalons  on  her  way  from  Austria, 
and  it  is  impossible  that  the  contrast  between  the  two 
journeys  should  not  have  struck  her  forcibly.  Here,  in  this 
market-square,  the  girls  of  Chalons  had  on  that  other 
occasion  greeted  her  with  complimentary  verses : 

Princesse,  dont  I  ^esprit,  les  graces,  les  appaSy 
Viennent  emhellir  nos  dimats.^ 

And  now  the  fugitives  have  reached  the  Rue  Saint  Jacques. 
Here  is  the  posting-house,  and  round  it  a  fair  number  of 
inquisitive  bystanders  :  this  is  the  dreaded  moment.  From 
the  way  in  which  the  people  stare  it  is  impossible  to  doubt 
that  they  recognise  the  royal  family.  Did  Gabriel  Vallet  say 
a  word  in  the  ear  of  Viet  the  postmaster  ?    One  cannot  tell : 

1  "  By  way  of  a  crowning  disaster  the  horses  of  the  King's  carriage  fell 
down  twice  between  Nintr6  (this  is  Chaintrix,  the  word  has  been  misread 
on  the  MS. )  and  Chalons  ;  all  the  traces  broke,  and  we  lost  more  than  an 
hour  in  repairing  this  disaster," — M6moires  deMadame  de  Tourzel. 

"  The  carriage  ran  into  a  bridge  before  reaching  Chalons,  which  caused 
some  traces  to  break,  but  they  were  mended  in  less  than  half  an  hour." — 
Deslon's  Narrative  {M4moires  de  BouilU). 

2  La  Dauphine  Marie  Antoinette  en  Champagne,  1770,  by  E.  de 
Barthelemy. 

5S 


THE  FLIGHT 

but  it  is  quite  certain  that  Viet  was  not  deceived  for  a 
moment  by  the  disguise  of  the  fugitives,  while  the  inquisitive 
crowd  that  had  collected  round  the  posting-house  were 
equally  well  informed  as  to  the  rank  of  the  travellers.  "  We 
were  perfectly  well  recognised,"'  observes  Madame  Royale : 
"  many  of  the  people  thanked  God  on  seeing  the  King,  and 
prayed  that  he  might  escape." 

An  incident  occurred  here  that  is  still  rather  obscure.  An 
individual  belonging  to  the  town  recognised  the  King,  and 
intimated  the  fact  to  Viet  the  postmaster,  who  "  would  not 
take  anything  upon  himself."  The  man,  persisting  in  his 
object,  hurried  to  the  Mayor,  M.  Chorez,  who  in  his  constern- 
ation hesitated  and  temporised  so  successfully  that  the  other 
returned  to  the  posting-house  determined,  or  pretending  to 
be  determined,  to  keep  his  belief  to  himself.^  Viet  hastened 
the  business  of  changing  horses,  while  the  bystanders  dispersed; 
and  thus  it  was  not  yet  half  past  four  when  the  carriages 
started  away,  passed  the  gate  of  Saint  Jacques,  and  left  the 
town  behind  them,  turning  to  the  right  on  the  fine  road  to 
Metz. 

And  what  took  place  after  their  departure  ?  Did  not  the 
individiuU  belonging  to  the  town  regret  his  indecision  ?  Half 
an  hour  later,  when  the  berline  had  drawn  up  for  a  moment 
on  the  straight  road  and  the  travellers  were  congratulating 
themselves  on  having  passed  Chalons  without  any  mishap,  a 
man  dressed  like  a  bourgeois  "came  up  to  the  carriage 
door  and  said  in  a  fairly  loud  voice  :  Yonr  schemes  are  badly 

1  Whatever  Victor  Foumel  may  say  (U J^v^nemerit  de  VarenneSy  p.  128), 
the  fact  of  this  recognition  cannot  be  doubted.  In  addition  to  the  observa- 
tion quoted  from  Madame  Royale,  wo  have,  to  support  her  testimony,  the 
account  published  in  the  Meinoirea  de  W^ber^  which  was  written  by  Mgr. 
de  Fontanges,  and  purports  to  have  been  directly  inspired  by  the  Queen's 
recollections.  Finally,  the  Queen  herself  related  the  incident  to  the  Comte 
de  Fersen,  when  she  saw  him  secretly  at  the  Tuileries,  on  the  14th  Feb.  1792, 
and  gave  him  the  details  of  the  journey.  He  says  in  his  journal : — "  At 
Chalons  they  were  recognised  ;  a  man  warned  the  Mayor,  who  took  the  line 
erf  saying  that  if  he  were  sure  of  the  fact  he  had  only  to  publish  it,  but  that 
he  would  be  responsible  for  the  consequences."  It  will  be  asked  how  Marie 
Antoinette,  in  the  depths  of  the  berline,  could  be  so  accurately  informed ; 
but  it  must  be  remembered  that  on  the  return  journey,  during  the  twelve 
hours  that  the  royal  family  spent  at  ChMons,  the  Queen  conversed  with 
the  Mayor  of  the  town,  and  it  was  from  himself  that  she  heard  of  the 
incident. 

53 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

laid^  you  will  he  stopped^  and  made  off  before  anyone  had  time 
to  find  out  his  name  or  what  he  was."  ^ 

From  this  time  forward  the  news  of  the  fugitives'  approach 
preceded  them.  At  least  half  an  hour  before  they  reached 
the  posting-house  at  Pont-de-Somme-Vesle,  where  fifty  of 
Choiseul's  soldiers  were  awaiting  them,  the  post-master  of  the 
place  confided  to  the  dragoon  Aubriot  that  the  king  was 
going  to  pass,  an  indiscretion  which  caused  so  much  excitement 
that  Choiseul  was  obliged  to  recall  his  soldiers.^  At  Sainte 
Menehould  a  barmaid  spread  the  same  rumour.  At  Clermont 
an  officer  approached  the  King  and  told  him  in  a  low  voice 
"  that  he  was  betrayed  *"  ;  ^  everywhere  the  inhabitants  gave 
signs  of  being  already  in  an  anxious  and  over-excited  state, 
everywhere  they  crowded  along  the  route  of  the  berline. 
Hitherto  we  have  been  obliged  to  regard  these  various 
incidents  as  a  truly  remarkable  series  of  links  in  a  chain  of 
chances  and  accidents  ;  but  now  that  it  has  been  proved  that 
the  fugitives  were  undoubtedly  recognised  at  Chaintrix  and 
at  Chalons  it  becomes  evident  that  for  the  rest  of  the  journey 
they  were  "forestalled""  by  some  speedy  messenger, — no 
doubt  by  the  person  dressed  like  a  bourgeois  who,  as  they 
left  Chalons,  uttered  the  note  of  warning  that  has  been  re- 
corded. 

The  royal  family,  however,  were  now  certain  of  success. 
Only  four  leagues  further  on,  in  less  than  two  hours,  they 
were  to  meet  M.  de  Choiseul  at  Pont-de-Somme-Vesle,  with 
the  forty  hussars  of  the  Lauzun  regiment  whom  M.  de 
Goguelat,  Assistant  Quartermaster  General  of  the  army,  was 
to  have  taken  there  that  same  morning  from  Sainte  Menehould. 
Goguelat,  whom  Bouille  had  despached  to  the  King  in  the 
early  days  of  June,  had  studied  the  route  in  detail  from 
Chalons  to  Montmedy,  had  placed  the  troops  himself,  and 

'M^moires  de  Wdher.     Narrative  of  Monseigneur  de  Fontanges. 

2  "The  postmaster  of  Pont-de-Somme-Vesle  came  to  me  and  told  me 
there  was  a  rumour  abroad  that  the  King  was  about  to  pass.  I  hid  my 
feelings  as  best  I  could,  and  answered  him  that  those  who  spread  this 
report  were  ill-informed.  ...  I  was  able  to  report  the  postmaster's 
information  to  M.  le  Due  (de  Choiseul),  who  was  beginning  to  think  that 
our  uneasiness  had  some  foundation.  .  .  .  Towards  five  or  six  o'clock  in 
the  evening  he  gave  the  order  to  retire.  .  .  ." — M.  Aubriot's  Report, 
appended  to  the  Narrative  of  de  Choiseul. 

*  Madame  Royale's  Narrative. 

54 


THE   FLIGHT 

intended,  as  soon  as  the  berline  arrived  at  Pont-de-Somme- 
Vesle,  to  hurry  on  before  it  at  full  speed,  with  the  object  of 
warning  the  different  detachments  of  the  approach  of  his 
Majesty.  All  this  part  of  the  route  had  been  minutely 
s^udied,  and  it  was  in  the  most  absolute  confidence  that  the 
fugitives  travelled  over  the  four  leagues  that  lay  between 
Chalons  and  Pont-de-Somme-Vesle.^ 

They  passed  Notre  Dame  de  TEpine,  and  we  may  be  sure 
that  the  hearts  of  the  women  sent  up  a  hymn  of  gratitude 
towards  the  fretted  spire  of  that  marvellous  church.  The 
road,  mercilessly  straight,  stretched  out  across  the  chalky 
plain  ;  a  few  windmills  were  dotted  about  on  hillocks.  From 
the  carriage  windows  the  princesses  looked  out,  doubtless 
trying  to  descry  in  the  distance  the  sky-blue  coats  and  white 
facings  ^  of  M .  de  Choiseul's  hussars.  Not  one  was  to  be 
seen  !  And  yet  they  must  .surely  be  near  the  spot  ?  And 
then  suddenly    the  berline  drew  up. 

There  was  no  village  to  be  seen.     The  road  was  bare,  save 

1  •*  The  orders  were  that,  if  the  King  wished  first  to  reveal  his  identity 
to  his  troops,  the  varioua  detachments  should  be  successively  recalled  to 
form  a  rear-guard  quite  close  to  the  carriage,  while  the  new  detachment 
formed  the  advance-guard.  If,  ^on  the  contrary,  his  Majesty  wished  to 
preserve  his  incognito,  the  officers  in  command  were  to  allow  the  carriage 
to  go  on,  and  thus  give  it  time  to  change  horses,  at  the  same  time  marching 
behind  it  suffioiently  closely  to  provide  against  any  accident.  The  orders 
prescribed  that  the  troops  were  to  follow  the  carriage  closely,  were  not  to 
allow  themselves  to  be  passed  by  any  courier  on  any  pretext  whatever, 
and  were  all  to  arrive  at  Montmedy  together.  It  would  be  difficult,  no 
doubt,  to  give  more  precise  or  more  carefully  calculated  orders,  or  ones 
that  shoula  better  provide  against  all  emergencies." — Mimoiresdu  Marquis 
de  Malaissy,  pp.  215-217. 

Quite  true  ;  and  Bouill(^  declared  that  he  had  foreseen  everything,  even 
his  sudden  death. 

But  he  could  not  have  foreseen^that  Choiseul  and  Goguelat  would  leave 
their  post  at  Pont-de-Somme-Vesle  simply  because  the  peasants  told  them 
to.  This  step,  and  their  retirement  by  a  cross-country  road,  prevented 
Goguelat  from  preceding  the  berline  by  one  league,  which  would  have  given 
time  for  the  troops  to  arm  themselves,  and  above  all  for  the  relay  of  horses 
at  Varennes  to  be  at  the  place  where  it  was  expected  to  be,  and  not  at  the 
other  extremity  of  the  town.  It  has  sometimes  caused  surprise  that  one 
of  the  outriders,  Valory  or  Moustier,  did  not,  in  default  of  Goguelat,  go 
on  in  advance,  and  precede  the  berline  bj'  an  hour ;  but  according  to  the 
regulations  then  in  force,  postmasters  were  forbidden  **  to  furnish  horses  to 
outriders  accompanying  a  carriage  before  the  arrival  of  the  carriage  at  the 
posting-house."  Thus  an  outrider  could  not  precede  the  travellers  he  was 
with  by  a  longer  time  than  a  riding-horse  can  gain  on  a  carriage,  and  he 
was  obliged  to  wait  at  each  stage  for  the  arrival  of  the-carriage. 

2  Regulations  of  1786,  Lauzun  Hussars. 

55 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

or  a  fine  new  farm  on  the  left,  with  a  pond.^  And  there  was 
Valory,  overcome  with  dismay.  "  Where  are  we  ?  " — "At  Pont- 
de-Somme-Vesle :  this  farm  is  the  posting-house."  "And 
Choiseul  ? '"—"  Gone."  "And  the  hussars .?"— "  Not  a  man." 
"  And  M.  de  Goguelat  ?  "— "  Not  a  soul !  " 

The  ostlers,  without  hurrying  themselves,  changed  the 
horses  unconcernedly.  The  King  stared  out  over  the  carriage- 
door  mechanically,  feeling  "  that  the  whole  world  was  desert- 
ing him."  2 

^  Le  voyageur  franqoiSf  1790. 

2  Narrative  of  M.  Deslon,  captain  in  the  regiment  of  the  Lauzun  Hussars. 
— M6moires  sur  Vaffaire  de  Varennes,  comprenant  le  m^moire  inAdit  de  M, 
le  Marquis  de  BouilU.  A  collection  of  the  memoirs  relating  to  the  French 
Revolution.    Boudouin,  1832. 


56 


CHAPTER  III 

THE    NIGHT   OF   THE   TWENTY-FIRST 

It  was  impossible  either  to  return  or  to  wait :  impossible 
even  to  make  inquiries  of  the  people  at  the  posting-house 
without  giving  rise  to  suspicion.  The  only  course  was  to 
proceed,  in  an  agony  of  uncertainty,  along  the  road  where 
disaster  was  most  probably  lying  in  wait.  For  indeed  there 
were  signs  of  unusual  excitement  upon  that  road.  Some 
mounted  police,  going  towards  Chalons,  had  passed  the 
berline ;  others  had  been  seen  walking  in  the  opposite  direc- 
tion. It  was  imperative  to  reach  Sainte-Menehould  as  soon 
as  possible.  The  forty  dragoons  that  were  to  have  been 
stationed  there  by  M.  de  Damas  would  doubtless  be  found  at 
their  post. 

They  started,  then,  but  at  the  first  strain  of  the  collar 
the  four  leaders  feU.  They  were  dragged  to  their  feet  by 
dint  of  much  flogging,  the  postillions  settled  themselves  again 
in  the  saddle,  and  a  second  departure  was  attempted,  only  to 
be  followed  by  a  second  fall.  This  time  the  four  animals  in 
their  struggles  entangled  themselves  so  completely  in  their 
harness  that  it  was  necessary  to  unharness  them  on  the 
ground,  in  oi*der  to  release  one  of  the  postillions,  who  was  so 
firmly  wedged  under  his  horse  that  he  left  his  boot  behind 
him  when  he  was  pulled  away.  The  berline  got  off  at  last, 
however,  and  the  procession  started  in  the  same  order  as 
before  :  Valory  as  outrider,  then  the  cabriolet,  then  the  royal 
carriage  escorted  by  Moustier,  whose  place  on  the  box  had 
been  taken  by  Maiden. 

The  straight  white  road  rose  and  fell  in  long  undulations, 

57 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

following  the  natural  slopes  of  the  country,  and  leaving  the 
village  of  Auve  on  the  right.  Then,  on  a  plateau,  the  De  la 
Lune  tavern  came  in  sight.  The  hussars,  whom  the  fugitives 
were  still  hoping  to  meet,  did  not  appear ;  there  was  not  even 
a  sign  of  their  having  passed  by.  At  Orbeval,  an  isolated 
house  at  the  next  stage  after  Pont-de-Somme-Vesle,  a  fine 
farm  with  a  chapel  built  against  its  wall  did  duty  as  a 
posting-house,  but  the  horses  were  missing :  they  were  in  the 
fields,  and  could  not  be^brought  back  under  a  quarter  of  an 
hour.  Valory  treated  the  postillions  to  a  glass  of  brandy,^ 
while  the  horseless  berline  and  cabriolet  stood  at  the  side  of 
the  road  and  the  swing-bars  lay  upon  the  ground.  The  sun, 
which  had  not  been  visible  the  whole  day,  shone  out  at  about 
half  past  six,^  lighting  up  the  melancholy  landscape  :  the  mill 
of  Valmy  was  turning  on  its  hill ;  the  plain,  varied  here  and 
there  by  woods,  was  still  and  peaceful.  But  the  aspect  of  the 
country  changed  as  soon  as  Orbeval  was  left  behind ;  a  great 
pond  appeared  on  the  left;  and  suddenly  the  dusty  plain 
was  succeeded  by  green  fields,  while  on  the  eastern  horizon 
rose  the  dark  line  of  the  hills  of  Argonne. 

Valory  had  started  first,  and  was  pushing  on  with  all  the 
speed  possible  to  his  hired  mount,  in  his  anxiety  to  reach 
Sainte-Menehould.  It  was  half-past  seven  when  he  came  to 
the  first  houses  of  the  suburb  of  Fleurion.  He  crossed  the 
bridge,  passed  into  the  Rue  de  la  Petite  Auche  and  straight 
on  along  the  Grande  Auche,  which  is  the  central  street  of 
the  town.  The  townsfolk  were  at  their  doors :  it  was  still 
broad  daylight,  being  about  a  quarter  to  eight.  As  he 
entered  the  Place  Royale,  facing  the  town-hall,  Valory  saw 
a  group  of  dragoons  chatting  and  laughing  with  some  of  the 
townspeople  in  front  of  the  Soleil  inn,  on  the  right ;  others 
were  seated  before  the  cafe  at  the  comer  of  the  Grande  Auche. 
Not  wishing  to  attract  attention,  he  trotted  on  his  way  as 
one  who  knew  the  road,  and  darted  into  the  Rue  de  la  Force, 
a  street  that  has  no  thoroughfare.  He  was  obliged  to  retrace 
his  steps,^  ask  his  way,  and  cross  the  busy  crowded  square, 
where  at  the  door  of  the  town-hall  some  people  were  arguing 

1  He  did  the  same  at  each  stage.     Precis  historique  du  Gomte  de  Valory. 
■*  Moustier's  Narrative.  ^  Choiseul's  Narrative. 

58 


THE   NIGHT  OF  THE  TWENTY-FIRST 


OS     ^ 
^    CO 


w    o 


w  .a 

cn 
o 


w 


59 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

noisily.  Valory  as  he  passed  roused  their  attention,  for  his 
livery  of  Conde's  colours  was  well  known  in  the  Clermont 
country.  He  was  seen  to  dismount  in  the  Rue  de  la 
Porte  des  Bois,  before  the  posting-house,  and  to  speak  to 
M.  d'Andoins,^  the  officer  in  command  of  the  dragoons,  whose 
long  lean  figure,  prominent  nose,  and  Gascon  accent  had  been 
the  talk  of  the  town  since  the  morning. 

While  the  ostlers  were  preparing  the  horses  d'Andoins  told 
Valory  all  he  knew.  Forty  of  Lauzun's  hussars  from  Toul 
had  left  Sainte-Menehould  that  very  morning  for  Pont-de- 
Somme-Vesle,  under  the  command  of  M.  de  Goguelat.  Why 
had  the  berline  not  met  them  there  ?  What  had  become  of 
them  ?  To  this  d'Andoins  could  give  no  answer ;  but  the 
townspeople  of  Sainte-Menehould,  seeing  the  forty  hussars 
replaced  by  thirty  dragoons,  had  become  alarmed :  these 
movements  of  troops,  "  without  information  being  given  to 
the  municipality,  without  rations,  and  without  quarters, " 
seemed  suspicious.  Both  men  and  horses,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
were — at  their  officers'  expense — occupying  the  Soleil  inn  at 
the  comer  of  the  Rue  de  la  Porte  des  Bois  and  the  Place 
Royale,  a  circumstance  that  had  greatly  enraged  the  post- 
master Drouet,  whose  stables  were  but  fifty  yards  away. 
During  the  day  he  had  been  over  in  a  fury  to  see  Paillette, 
the  landlord  of  the  Soleil,  whom  he  informed  shrilly  that  "  that 
was  not  the  way  to  behave ;  that  if  anyone  wished  to  carry 
on  the  post-house  in  his  place,  he,  Drouet,  would  set  up  a  pot- 
house""; and  he  swore  that  "he  would  not  let  it  be  for- 
gotten." ^  In  a  word,  the  town  was  disturbed  :  the  "  dragoons 
were  not  to  be  trusted,  "  having  been  lounging  about  all  day 
in  the  taprooms  with  the  men  of  the  place,  who  were  trying 
to  satisfy  their  curiosity  by  making  the  soldiers  talk  and 
explain  the  object  of  their  presence.  The  call  to  saddle,  if  it 
were  sounded  at  this  moment,  would  confirm  suspicion  and 

^  Baptiste  Jean  Simon  Etienne  d'Andoins  was  born  at  Pau  on  September 
2,  1745.  He  enlisted  in  the  Carabiniers  on  March  1,  1760,  and  was  a 
captain  in  the  Royal  Dragoons  in  June,  1791.  In  the  following  September 
he  was  promoted  to  be  lieutenant-colonel  in  the  cavalry.  He  retired  on 
May  31,  1792,  and  settled  down  at  Orthez  with  a  retiring  pension  of 
l,287fr.  35c.— Archives  of  the  War  Office. 

2  Statement  of  the  Sieur  Lagache,  sergeant-major  in  the  Royal  Dragoons 
appended  to  Choiseul's  Narrative. 

60 


THE  NIGHT   OF  THE   TWENTY-FIRST 

might  result  in  a  brawl.     The  best  thing  to  do  was  to  change 
horses  without  mustering  the  troop,  and  to  go  on  quickly. 

And  now  the  cracking  of  whips  and  the  cries  of  postillions 
announced  the  arrival  of  the  berline.  It  appeared  from  the 
Grande  Auche,  and  crossed  the  square  diagonally  with  its  six 
horses  trotting  briskly :  the  yellow  jackets  of  Maiden  on  the 
box  and  Moustier  at  the  door,  with  the  cabriolet  following, 


POSTINO-HOUSB  AT  SAlNTE-MlfcNEHOULD. 


made  a  sensation  among  the  crowd  of  townsfolk  loitering 
there,  expecting  something  to  happen.  The  carriage,  as  it 
passed  Faillette''s  house,  was  but  three  paces  from  the  groups 
of  dragoons  who  stood  there :  instinctively  they  all  faced 
about  and  carried  their  hands  to  the  visors  of  their  helmets.^ 
The  lady  in  the  berline  responded  with  that  inclination  of  the 
head — at  once  dignified,  gracious,  and  indifferent — peculiar 
to  monarchs  on  the  road.  This  was  observed.  The  most 
inquisitive  ran  towards  the  posting-house  to  secure  a  nearer 
view  of  these  aristocrats  who  were  emigrating  with  such  a  large 
following ;  the  people  called  to  each  other,  rushed  out  of  the 
houses,  and  jostled  one  another  in  their  anxiety  to  arrive  in 

^  Statement  of  the  Sieur  Lagache,  sergeant-major  in  the  Royal  Dragoons, 
appended  to  Choiseul's  Narrative. 

61 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

time.  Captain  d'Andoins,  planted  in  the  middle  of  the 
street  with  his  arms  extended,  made  every  effort  to  control 
the  mob  :  he  was,  however,  soon  borne  down,  and  was  heard 
to  say  to  Moustier,  who  was  hastily  helping  the  ostlers  to  change 
the  horses,  "  Get  away  quickly  !  You  are  lost  if  you  do  not 
hurry ! "  Then,  turning  to  some  of  his  own  men  who  were 
mingling  with  the  staring  crowd,  he  ordered  them  to  go  to 
supper  instantly:  to  which  the  emboldened  dragoons 
answered  "that  there  was  nothing  to  hinder  them  from 
looking  on ;  they  were  doing  no  harm."  ^ 

The  travellers,  meanwhile,  made  no  attempt  at  conceal- 
ment: with  the  blinds  drawn  up  and  the  windows  open, 
they  were  placidly  looking  on.  DAndoins  approached  and 
spoke  to  them  respectfully,  his  hand  at  his  helmet.  Among 
the  crowd  a  rumour  arose  that  "  it  was  the  Prince  de  Conde, 
who  had  returned  to  France  incognito  and  that  the  dragoons 
were  there  to  protect  him  as  he  left  the  kingdom."  The 
postmaster  Drouet,  who  was  returning  from  the  fields,  made 
his  observations  like  everyone  else,  estimated  the  weight  of 
the  berline,  and  exhorted  the  postillions  not  to  kill  the 
horses.  2 

The  carriage  drove  away,  but  its  huge  mountain  of 
luggage  was  still  to  be  seen  moving  along  the  Rue  de  la 
Porte  des  Bois  when  a  rumour  arose  that  it  contained  the 
royal  family.  In  an  instant  the  report  was  general :  it  was 
cried  from  one  door  to  another;  the  whole  town  heard  it 
at  the  same  moment.  Faillette"*s  maid  greeted  Sergeant 
Lagache  with  the  words,  "  It  is  the  King  who  has  just 
passed  by."  ^     The  amazing  news  spread  in  the  cqfes^  and  the 

^  Narratives  of  Lagache  and  Bouille.  Official  Reports  of  the  Munici- 
pality of  Sainte-Menehould,  &c. 

'^  "Just  as  they  had  finished  harnessing  the  horses  to  the  two  carriages 
the  postmaster  Drouet  came  in  from  the  fields  ...  he  had  been  cultivat- 
ing a  field  that  day  in  the  district  known  as  la  Malassise.^^ 

La  VdriU  sur  la  Fuite  .  .  .  de  Louis  XVI,  by  E.  A.  Ancelon,  1866. 
Dr.  Ancelon  was  a  native  of  Sainte-Menehould,  and  his  book  is  valuable 
in  that  it  records  a  number  of  local  traditions  collected  by  the  author. 
We  may  then  regard  it  as  certain  that  Drouet  arrived  at  the  very  moment 
when  the  business  of  changing  horses  was  finished,  and  he  had  no  time, 
nor  did  it  occur  to  him,  to  look  long  at  the  travellers'  faces.  This  version 
of  the  aflFair,  moreover,  agrees  perfectly  with  the  official  documents,  such 
as  the  Reports  at  Sainte-Mdnehould. 

3  Faillette's  girl  said  to  me  as  she  passed  :  "  You  were  right,  Monsieur, 

6^ 


THE   NIGHT   OF   THE   TWENTY-FIRST 

agitation  grew.  At  the  corner  of  the  square  a  trumpeter 
sounded  the  call  to  saddle  :  d'Andoins  urged  his  men  to 
hurry,  but  they  had  turned  sulky,  grumbling  that  they  had 
eaten  nothing  since  the  morning,  and  demanding  bread  and 
cheese.  The  officer  yielded,  foreseeing  mutiny,  while  the 
inquisitive  mob  crowded  round  the  soldiers.     "  Do  not  let 


DOORWAY  OF  THE  POSTINO-HOD8B  AT  SAlNTE-MJfiNEUOULD. 


them  go,""  cried  the  people ;  "  do  not  allow  them  to  mount." 
Ilie  dragoons  werc  drawn  aside.  "  Your  officers  are  rascals, 
they  are  betraying  you.*"  In  front  of  the  municipal  buildings 
the  town  di-ummer  beat  the  call  to  arms ;  the  National  Guard 
armed  and  assembled,  and  took  up  their  position  before  the 
Solcil  iVOr}  D'Andoins  sauntered  calmly  out  of  the  inn,  and 
appeared  bare-headed  in  the  street,  making  a  show  of  eating 
his  bi-ead  and  cheese  in  perfect  ease  of  mind.     By  this  time 

when  you  assured  me  that  you  were  only  expecting  a  treasure,  for  it  is  the 
royal  family." — Statement  of  the  dragoon  Lagache,  appended  to  Choiseul's 
Narrative. 

^  For  the  details  of  all  that  took  place  at  Sainte-Menehould  after  the 
departure  of  the  berline,  see  the  Narrative  of  Sergeant  Lagache,  and  the 
Official  Reports  of  the  municipality  (in  Ancelon's  book  on  the  subject). 

63 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

the  crowd  had  become  very  large,  filling  the  square  and 
surrounding  the  dragoons.  Sergeant  Lagache  sprang  into 
his  saddle,  and  backing  his  horse  scattered  the  staring  mob 
ruthlessly  with  a  couple  of  quick  movements ;  then,  either 
from  bravado  or  by  way  of  calling  upon  his  comrades  to 
follow,  he  urged  his  horse  forward  and  dashed  away  in  the 
direction  of  the  Porte  des  Bois,  firing  his  pistol  in  the  air  as 
he  went. 

Great  was  the  commotion  that  followed.  "  Stop  !  Stop  !  " 
cried  the  people.  "  Down  with  the  dragoons  !  To  arms  ! " 
Captain  d'Andoins,  being  taken  in  charge  by  two  of  the 
municipal  guard,  was  conducted  amid  the  hootings  of  the 
crowd  to  the  town -hall.  Night  was  falling.  The  municipal 
council  had  assembled  in  the  great  crowded  hall.  The 
officer,  on  being  called  upon  to  show  his  orders,  declared 
that  he  had  merely  been  instructed  to  secure  the  safe 
transport  of  some  money  that  was  expected  with  a  convoy 
from  Chalons.  One  of  the  municipal  officers — his  name 
was  Farcy — ran  to  the  house  of  the  postmaster  Drouet, 
"  to  make  inquiries  as  to  anything  remarkable  that  the 
latter  might  have  noticed  as  the  coach  passed  through." 
Drouet,  holding  forth  to  a  circle  of  bystanders,  declared  that 
"he  noticed  no  one  in  the  berline  but  a  fat,  short-sighted 
man,  with  a  long  aquiline  nose  and  a  pimpled  face,"  and  he 
inquired  if  the  King  did  not  answer  to    this  description.^ 

^  The  story  of  Drouet  recognising  the  King  in  the  berline,  by  comparing 
his  face  with  the  portrait  on  an  assignat  received  in  payment  from  the 
King's  own  hand,  is  evidently  an  invention  which  only  sprang  up  later  on 
in  the  postmaster's  imagination.  If  we  confine  ourselves  to  the  text  of 
the  official  documents  (Reports  of  the  Municipality  of  Sainte-M^nehould), 
all  that  we  find  is  "that  a  coach,  not  especially  remarkable,  preceded  by 
a  cabriolet  in  which  were  two  women,  seems  to  have  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  several  individuals,  and  especially  that  of  the  Sieur  Drouet,  master 
of  the  posting-house  where  these  carriages  had  stopped  to  change  horses." 
It  was  a  little  more  than  an  hour  and  a  half  after  the  berline  had  passed 
through  that  the  municipal  officers  repaired  to  Drouet's  house  '*  to  make 
inquiries  as  to  what  he  had  observed."  They  found  Drouet  "preparing  to 
go  and  inform  the  munici])ality  of  his  suspicions."  Of  his  suspicions — he 
did  not  recognise  the  King,  then ;  and  his  eagerness  in  asking  questions  as 
to  Louis  XVI's  personal  appearance  proves  abundantly  that  he  had  never 
seen  him  before.  Moreover,  if  he  had  been  certain  of  the  King's  identity, 
as  he  boasted  later  on,  how  was  it  that  he  did  not  oppose  the  departure  of 
the  fugitives,  instead  of  waiting  till  they  had  secured  a  considerable  start 
of  him,  and  then  risking  his  life — very  bravely,  be  it  said — in  pursuing 

64 


THE   NIGHT   OF  THE   TWENTY-FIRST 

Farcy,  assuring  him  that  the  portrait  was  accurate,  rau 
quickly  back  to  the  town  hall,  where  the  council  unanimously 
decided  at  once  that  "  the  fugitives  must  be  caught." 
Meantime  the  uproar  without  was  increasing,  and  the 
delirious  town  raised  shouts  of  applause  on  hearing  the 
names  of  the  citizens  despatched  to  pursue  the  King.  These 
were  Drouet  the  postmaster,  and  a  local  official  called 
Guillaume,  who  was  nicknamed  La  Hure  because  he  kept  an 
inn  of  which  the  sign  was  a  boar's  head.^  Drouet  had  served 
in  Conde's  dragoons,  Guillaume  in  the  Queen's  dragoons,  and 
they  were  both  known  to  be  reliable  horsemen.  On  this 
point,  therefore,  there  was  no  uneasiness,  but  were  there  not 
many  other  risks .?  At  this  moment  it  seemed  as  though  the 
whole  town  were  possessed  by  one  idea — the  marvellous  enter- 
prise that  these  two  men  were  about  to  undertake.  Their 
life  was  the  life  of  all ;  their  preparations  were  followed 
step  by  step.  Thus  it  was  known  that  Drouet's  wife 
besought  her  husband  not  to  rush  into  this  alarming 
adventure.  He,  however,  resolutely  saddled  the  only  two 
horses  that  were  left  in  his  stables,  and  accompanied  by 
Guillaume  dashed  off  at  full  speed  along  the  road  to 
Clermont.  The  night  was  growing  dark ;  it  was  nine 
o'clock. 

At  this  moment  there  arrived  at  the  town  hall  a  messenger 
from  the  municipality  of  Neuville-au-Pont,  announcing  that 
there  were  hussars  moving  about  the  neighbourhood ;  they 
had  come  from  Pont-de-Somme-Vesle,  where  they  had  been 
stationary  for  some  hours  ;  since  their  presence  disturbed  the 
country-people,  they  had  retired  by  cross-roads  in  order  to 
avoid  Sainte-Menehould ;  they  had  been  prowling  about  all 
the  evening,  not  far  from  the  Champagne  road,  in  the  vicinity 

them  through  a  forest  which  he  had  reason  to  believe  was  being  traversed 
in  every  direction  by  armed  troops  ? 

The  truth  is  that  Drouet's  attention,  like  that  of  all  the  bystanders,  was 
much  more  attracted  by  the  dragoons  than  by  the  berline,  and  that  he  only 
began  to  suspect  the  rank  of  the  travellers  at  the  same  time  that  this  sus- 
picion became  general  in  the  town.  The  news  suddenly  spread  throughout 
Sainte-Menehould  that  '*  it  was  the  King,"  in  the  same  way  that  it  had 
been  published  at  every  stage  since  the  recognition  at  Chaintrix. 

^  National  Archives,  M.  664.  Guillaume  was  also  employed  in  the 
offices  of  the  Directory  of  the  district. 

65  F 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

of  Auve  and  Hans ;  at  Neuville  M.  de  Choiseul,  who  was  in 
command,  had  requisitioned  a  guide,  and  they  had  struck 
into  the  forest  towards  Varennes.  "  We  do  not  know  what 
to  think  of  all  this,""  wrote  the  Mayor  of  Neuville.  "  We  have 
reason  to  be  afraid  ...  in  the  meantime  we  are  going  to  call 
out  the  guard."" 

So  feverish  was  the  excitement  of  the  people  that  the  news 
of  the  secret  return  of  the  hussars  let  loose  the  hurricane.^ 
Captain  d'Andoins,  who  by  this  time  was  again  in  his  inn, 
was  once  more  carried  off  to  the  town-hall,  amid  blows  and 
threats,  and  was  forced  to  disarm  his  men,  whose  rifles,  pistols, 
sabres,  and  accoutrements  were  flung  down  pell-mell  in  the 
vestibule.  D'Andoins  and  his  lieutenant  Lacour  were  thrown 
into  gaol,  and  while  a  furious  mob  was  yelling  round  the 
prison  door  and  demanding  the  officers'*  heads,  barricades  of 
carts  and  furniture  were  raised  at  the  confines  of  the  town  ; 
the  tocsin  sounded  ceaselessly ;  the  windows,  at  the  word  of 
command,  were  all  illuminated  ^  with  lanterns,  candles,  and 
pots  of  resin ;  and  mingling  with  the  anxious  inhabitants — 
who  were  resolved  not  to  sleep  that  night — were  the  dis- 
armed dragoons,  more  than  half  drunk,  shouting  Vive  la 
Nation!  and  meekly  obeying  the  officers  of  the  National 
Guard. 

While  imminent  danger  was  thus  spreading  like  wildfire 
behind  them,  the  fugitives  were  pursuing  their  way  across  the 
silent  country.  On  leaving  Sainte-Menehould  the  road^ 
began  to  rise  between  orchards  that  were  quickly  succeeded 
by  woods  ;  soon,  still  rising,  it  reached  the  heart  of  the  Forest 

1  There  was  a  skirmish  at  the  Porte  des  Bois  among  the  townsfolk,  who 
"took  each  other  for  dragoons"  in  the  darkness;  the  Sieur  Collet  was 
killed,  and  the  Sieur  Legay  seriously  wounded. 

2  G.  Fisbach.    La  Fuite  de  Louis  X  VI  d'aprh  les  archives  de  Strasbourg. 

3  "  This  was  not  the  main  road  that  is  in  use  to-day.  The  latter,  at  the 
junction  of  three  roads  just  outside  the  town,  leaves  the  station  road  to 
the  right  and  ascends  slightly.  .  .  It  has  been  recently  built ;  at  the  same 
junction,  but  quite  to  the  left,  the  old  road  turns  and  goes  past  the  front 
of  the  barracks.  It  is  steeper  and  more  deserted,  but  none  the  less  quite 
easy  and  perfectly  practicable;  and — to  say  nothing  of  its  historical 
interest — this  sunken  road  is  much  more  picturesque  than  the  new  one, 
which,  moreover,  it  rejoins  half  a  league  further  on." — La  Route  de 
Louis  X  VI.     By  Andr^  Schelcher. 

66 


m 


POSTIN(;-HOrSE   AT   ORIJEVAL 


POSTING-HOUSK  AT  CLEKMONT-KN-ARGONXE. 


OFTHE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 
;££L  I  FORNIX 


THE   NIGHT   OF  THE  TWENTY-FIRST 

of  Argonne  and  passed  the  village  of  Granges-aux-Bois ; 
slowly  it  climbed  to  the  summit  of  the  hill  of  Biesme  ;  there 
it  began  to  descend,  dropping  between  two  hills,  while  below 
nothing  was  visible  in  the  twilight  but  a  gulf  of  foliage  ;  then 
it  turned,  and  the  valley  of  Biesme  appeared,  already  dim 
with  the  mists  of  evening.  Soon  Les  Islettes  was  passed,  a 
large  village  of  flat  roofs ;  then  came  a  long  and  rapid  descent 
between  the  sombre  ridges  of  the  forest ;  then  one  more  rise, 
to  be  climbed  at  a  foofs  pace.  Night  had  fallen  when  the 
travellers  entered  Clermont,  a  large  market  town  at  the  edge 
of  the  woods,  where  they  expected  to  find  a  hundred  and  forty 
dragoons  commanded  by  Colonel  the  Comte  de  Damas. 
Valory  was  still  in  advance  of  the  others.  At  the  posting- 
house  on  the  left  side  of  the  high  road  at  the  entrance  of  the 
town  ^  he  did  indeed  find  Damas,  who  was  lodging  hard  by 
in  the  Hotel  Saint  Nicolas,  but  of  dragoons  not  a  single 
man.  The  presence  of  the  troops,  uninvited,  had  alarmed  the 
inhabitants,  so  Damas  had  been  obliged  to  quarter  a  part  of 
the  detachment  at  Auzeville,  a  neighbouring  village,  and  the 
men  who  had  remained  at  Clermont  were  not  reliable.  More- 
over, the  hours  of  waiting  since  midday  had  wearied  the 
soldiers  and  disturbed  the  people,  and  he  had  been  absolutely 
obliged  to  give  the  order  to  unsaddle  and  to  sound  the  retreat, 
in  order  to  avoid  a  collision  that  might  have  been  disastrous. 
Valory,  on  the  other  hand,  did  not  cast  any  doubt  on  the 
success  of  the  expedition.  Nowhere,  he  said,  had  the  King 
been  recognised ;  and  now  the  goal  was  too  near  and  Paris 
too  far  for  any  further  mischance  to  be  serious.^  While  he 
was  talking  he  was  at  the  same  time  engaging  postillions  and 
horses,  without  noticing  that  on  the  farther  side  of  the  street 
a  crowd  was  gathering,  surprised  to  see  this  courier  in  yellow 
livery  chatting  familiarly  with  a  colonel  of  so  imposing  a 
presence  and  so  great  a  name. 

A  second  courier  appeared,  in  similar  livery,  and  imme- 
diately  afterwards   the   cabriolet,   followed   by  the  berline. 

*  •*  One  may  still  see  on  the  left,  a  little  before  coming  to  a  square  well, 
ornamented  with  wrought  iron,  at  No.  12  in  the  main  street  (Rue 
Gambetta),  a  gateway  upon  whose  arch  the  word  Posting-house  can  with 
difficulty  be  deciphered." — La  Route  de  Louis  X  VI.     By  Andr^  Schelcher. 

-  Narrative  of  M.  le  Comte  Charles  de  Damas. 

67  F  2 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

The  two  great  lanterns  with  their  reflectors  lit  up  both  the 
road  and  the  interior  of  the  carriage.  In  the  midst  of  the 
stir  and  bustle  of  changing  horses  the  lookers  on  saw  M.  de 
Damas,  as  he  stood  on  the  steps  of  the  Hotel  Saint  Nicolas, 
make  certain  signs  to  the  travellers,  who  responded  with  bows 
and  smiles  of  satisfaction.  One  of  the  ladies  beckoned  to  him 
to  approach  the  carriage  door,  and  the  other  lady  spoke  to 
him,  addressing  him  as  Monsieur  le  dragon,^  which  seemed 
peculiar.  And  when  afterwards  the  gentleman  in  the  berline 
began  to  speak,  the  same  lady  "  made  a  sign  to  him  to  be 
careful  about  his  voice."  ^  As  for  Damas,  he  was  wearing  his 
forage  cap,  which  seemed  to  give  him  great  discomfort,  for  he 
was  seen  several  times  to  raise  his  hand  instinctively  to  remove 
it.^  The  business  of  the  relay  lasted  for  ten  minutes.  When 
the  horses  were  ready  and  the  three  new  postillions,  Renaud, 
Baron,  and  Arnould,  were  in  the  act  of  mounting,  the  post- 
master's wife,  Madame  Canitrot,  enjoined  upon  them  "'  to  be 
back  at  break  of  day  on  the  morrow  with  their  horses,  to 
carry  the  hay,  and  to  be  sure  not  to  fail.''  *  Then  Valory 
rode  off ;  Moustier  mounted  the  box  of  the  berline,  and  as 
the  cabriolet  passed  on  in  front  cried  to  the  postillion  that 
guided  it, "  The  Varennes  road  ! ""  ^ 

For  the  cross-road  by  which  the  carriages  were  intended  to 
reach  Montmedy  branches  off  at  Clermont  from  the  Paris  and 
Metz  main  road.      It  boasted  no  post  service,  but  M.  de 

1  General  the  Marquis  de  Maleissye. — Memoirs  d'un  officier  aux  Gardes 
franqaises. 

2  Damas'  Narrative. 

3  Choiseul's  Narrative. 

4  *'  Madame  Canitrot  had  added  her  injunctions  to  those  of  her  husband, 
saying  to  the  postillions  that  it  was  absolutely  necessary  for  the  horses  to 
be  back  by  the  morning  of  the  next  day,  to  bring  in  the  hay.  .  .  .  The  old 
people  of  Clermont  say  that  this  excellent  woman  never  forgave  herself  for 
having  given  such  an  order  to  her  postillions  ;  she  believed  it  to  have  been 
partly  owing  to  her  that  Louis  XVI  was  arrested." — Note  by  the  Abb6 
Gabriel.     Louia  X  VI,  le  Marquis  de  BouilU. 

5  *  *  This  was  a  misfortune  that  had  grievous  consequences,  because  the 
postillions  from  Sainte-M^nehould,  who  had  brought  the  carriage  to  Cler- 
mont, heard  the  order  to  leave  the  high  road  ;  and  when  they  were  return- 
ing, and  met  the  postmaster  Drouet  who  was  tracking  the  carriages  and 
had  recognised  the  King,  they  were  able  to  answer  the  questions  he  put 
to  them,  and  to  tell  him  the  carriages  had  not  followed  the  high  road  to 
Verdun,  but  had  taken  the  road  to  Varennes.  He  then  decided  to  take 
the  cross-road,  and  did  not  pass  through  Clermont,  where  I  should  have 
stopped  him." — Damas'  Narrative. 

68 


THE  NIGHT   OF  THE  TWENTY-FIRST 

Choiseul  and  M.  de  Bouille  had  despatched  to  Varennes,  Dun, 
and  Stenay  the  necessary  relays,  composed  of  horses  from  their 
own  stables,  protected  by  detachments  of  hussars.  When 
once  Clermont  was  left  behind,  then,  there  was  no  further 
need  of  any  assistance  other  than  that  of  the  officers  respon- 
sible for  this  last  stage  of  the  journey  through  the  peaceful 
little  towns  that  were  to  be  passed  at  dead  of  night.  Hence- 
forth no  evil  chance  could  befall.  The  carriages  rolled  slowly 
along  the  level  road ;  the  fugitives  were  now  full  of  con- 
fidence ;  all  the  world  was  asleep,  for  as  they  passed  through 
the  village  of  Neuville  not  a  light  was  to  be  seen.  Evidently 
they  were  safe. 

What  tragic  memories  haunt  this  stretch  of  road  between 
Clermont  and  Varennes !  How  inevitably  one  dreams  here 
of  these  poor  people,  tracked  like  wild  beasts,  broken  with 
fatigue,  and  yet  so  confident  of  safety  that  they  had  fallen 
asleep  !  ^  Behind  them  at  Sainte-Menehould  the  alarm  bells 
were  ringing,  the  dragoons  were  disarmed,  the  town  was 
in  a  ferment.  At  Clermont^  the  populace  had  been  in 
a  state  of  insurrection  ever  since  their  departure ;  the  troops 
were  insubordinate,  and  in  vain  had  M.  de  Damas  persisted 
in  sounding  the  call  to  saddle.  There  too  the  tocsin  was 
ringing ;  and  the  townspeople,  after  the  scene  at  the  posting 
house,  had  communicated  their  suspicions  to  the  municipal 
body,  who  had  despatched  two  patriots,  Jean  Bertrand  and 
the  constable  Leniau,  in  pursuit  of  the  berline. 

Nearer  at  hand,  wandering  in  the  depths  of  the  wood, 
and  lost  among  quagmires  in  their  search  for  the  road  to 
Varennes,  were  the  exhausted  hussars  who  had  been  reluctantly 
following  Choiseul  and  Goguelat  since  they  left  Pont-de- 
Somme-Vesle.  Following  almost  the  same  path,  and  nearly 
colliding  with  them  at  every  junction  of  the  roads,  Drouet 
and  Guillaume,  reckless  as  bushrangers,  were  galloping 
through  the  forest.  They  too  were  aiming  for  Varennes, 
for  Drouet,  as  he  dashed  along  the  high  road  near  Clermont, 
had  met  his  own  postillions  returning  to  Sainte-Menehould 

^  **  Everyone  in  the  carriage  was  asleep." — Madame  Royale's  Narrative. 
2  The  official  Report  of  the  Municipality  of  Clermont  was  published  by 
the  Abb^  Gabriel :  Louis  X  VI j  le  Marquis  de  Bouille,  et  Varennes, 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

with  their  horses ;  and  they,  having  heard  Moustier's  order, 
knew  that  the  berline  had  taken  the  cross-road,  and  imparted 
the  fact  to  their  master,  who  would  otherwise  have  continued 
the  pursuit  on  the  Verdun  road,  imagining  the  travellers  to 
be  going  to  Metz.  Thus  was  Fate  gathering  up  the  threads 
of  the  drama  whose  scene  was  to  be  laid  in  that  little  town  of 
Varennes,  a  town  that  was  utterly  unknown  until  then,  and 
lay  peacefully  asleep  in  the  profound  silence  of  the  country. 
Darkness  had  now  completely  fallen.  At  that  time  the 
carriages  of  the  royal  family  were  still  a  good  half  hour  in 
advance  of  Drouet,  and  nearly  an  hour  in  advance  of 
Bertrand  and  Leniau ;  while  Choiseul  and  his  hussars  were 
distant  but  a  half  a  league,  but  they  marched  slowly,  wearied 
by  twenty-two  leagues  of  travelling,  and  unaware  that  the 
carriages  they  had  just  missed  at  Pont-de-Somme-Vesle  were 
quite  close  to  them.  The  various  roads  they  were  all  following 
met  at  the  very  borders  of  Varennes. 

The  time  was  a  quarter  to  eleven.^  Valory,  who  had  been 
in  the  saddle  for  four  and  twenty  hours,  and  was  at  least 
a  quarter  of  an  hour  in  advance  of  the  royal  carriage,  halted 
at  the  first  house  of  the  town :  it  was  there  that  the  relays 
prepared  by  M.  de  Choiseul  were  to  have  been  found.  Not 
a  sound  was  audible,  not  a  light  was  to  be  seen.  Valory 
retraced  his  steps,  thinking  he  must  have  passed  the  spot 
where  the  horses  were  stationed :  he  even  explored  a  side-road 
as  far  as  a  little  wood  where  the  men  and  the  team  of  horses 
might,  he  thought,  be  hidden.  He  called  :  but  received  no 
answer.  Then,  as  the  carriages,  whose  lights  he  saw  in  the 
distance,  had  stopped  at  the  entrance  to  the  town,  he 
returned  to  the  highway,  and  found  them  drawn  up  by  the 
houses  on  the  left  side  of  the  road.  The  travellers,  awakened 
by  the  sudden  stoppage,  had  thrust  their  heads  out  of  the 
window.     '•  Where  are  we  ?  *"     "  At  Varennes.'''     "  And  the 

^  The  royal  carriages,  leaving  Sainte-M6nehould  at  8  o'clock  and  keeping 
up  their  average  pace  of  three  leagues  an  hour,  would  have  arrived  at 
Clermont  at  about  half  past  nine  (the  distance  from  Sainte-M6nehould 
being  four  leagues,  but  the  road  very  uneven).  The  change  of  horses  at 
Clermont  only  took  ten  minutes. — Narrative  of  Damas.  At  half  past  ten 
in  the  evening,  then,  the  royal  berline  must  have  been  very  near  Varennes, 
which  was  only  distant  from  Clermont  by  three  and  a  half  leagues  of  level 
roftd. 

70 


THE   NIGHT   OF   THE   TWENTY-FIRST 

horses  ? ""  "  Not  to  be  found.""  Maiden  dismounted ;  Moustier 
sprang  from  the  box.  The  King  opened  the  door,  stepped 
to  the  ground,  and  walked  a  yard  or  two.  On  the  right  was 
a  garden  wall,  on  the  left  some  low  houses — hermetically 
sealed,  apparently — among  which  he  recognised^  instantly 
the  one  that  had  been  described  to  him  as  the  shelter  of  the 
horses.  That  was  the  place.  He  went  to  it  and  listened ; 
not  a  sound  was  to  be  heard.  He  knocked  upon  the  door 
with  his  fist ;  still  silence.  He  knocked  again,  asking  "  if  it 
were  not  here  that  the  horses  were  to  be  found.""  A  voice 
from  within  answered  at  last — in  the  words  that  are  used 
to  every  tramp  :  "  Be  off ;  we  don"'t  know  what  you  want !  "*"*  ^ 

The  disconcerted  King  returned  to  the  berline.  The 
Queen  asked  what  had  happened — not  that  she  was  uneasy, 
for  danger  seemed  so  far  from  this  calm  night,  but  she  was 
losing  patience.  Sixty  hussars  are  quartered  at  Varennes  : 
where  are  they  ?  Why  does  not  their  commanding  officer 
appear.'*  Why  is  the  relay  of  horses  not  ready  at  the 
specified  place  ?  Moustier  went  off  to  explore.  On  the  right 
of  the  road,  a  few  steps  away  from  the  carriages,  there  was 
a  large  house  whose  door  was  ajar  and  showed  a  ray  of  light. 
Moustier  ran  up  the  two  steps  to  the  entrance,  but  as  he 
laid  his  hand  on  the  door  it  was  shut  violently,  as  though 
someone  had  been  lying  in  wait  behind  it.  He  pushed  it 
forcibly,  and  it  yielded,  whereupon  he  found  himself  face  to 
face  with  a  man  of  about  sixty,  in  dressing-gown  and  night- 
cap, who  asked  him   what  he  wanted. 

"  To  ask  you  to  show  me  the  way  out  of  the  town  in  the 
direction  of  Stenay,**"*  answered  Moustier,  who  has  recorded 
this  dialogue  word  for  word  in  his  Narrative. 

"  I  would  gladly  do  so,'"  replied  the  other,  "  but  I  should 
be  lost  if  it  came  to  be  known.'"' 

"  You  are  too  good  a  fellow  not  to  be  anxious  to  oblige  a 
lady." 

"  We  know  quite  well  who  it  is,"*"*  murmured  the  man  in 
the  dressing-gown ;  "  it  is  not  just  a  lady."" 

Moustier  was  dumfounded,  and,  breaking  off  the  conversa- 

*  Narrative  of  Fontanges  {Mimoires  de  W4her). 

2  Gabriel.     L<mi8  XVI,  le  Marquis  de  Bouilli,  et  Varennes. 

71 


PLAN  OF  VARKNNBS  IN  1791. 

1.  Pr^fontaine'B  House.  2.  Town  Hall,  Court-house,  Prison.  3.  ' 
Archway  and  Church  of  St.  Gengoult.  4.  The  Old  Cemetery.  5.  ' 
Bras  d'Or  Inn.  6.  Sauce's  House.  7.  The  Bridge.  8.  The  6rt 
Monarque  Hotel.  9.  Convent  of  the  Cordeliers.  10.  The  Pai 
Church. 


THE  NIGHT   OF  THE  TWENTY-FIRST 

tion  brusquely,  he  returned  to  make  his  report  to  the  King, 
who  had  again  seated  himself  in  the  berline  and  wished  to 
speak  to  the  man.  The  latter  allowed  himself  to  be  led  up 
to  the  carriage  door.  He  walked  with  bare  feet  in  order  to 
make  less  noise,  and  he  nearly  fell  into  the  carriage,  his 
dressing-gown  and  night-cap  greatly  frightening  Madame 
Royale.  He  hinted  that  he  had  a  secret,  but  he  could  not 
tell  it. 

"  Do  you  know  the  Baronne  de  Koi-fF  ?  "  asked  Madame 
de  Tourzel. 

«No."i 

He  consented  to  guide  Moustier  to  the  quarters  of  the 
hussars,  who  were  lodged  in  the  disused  convent  of  the 
Cordeliers,  and  the  two  walked  off  together  along  a  sloping 
street.  On  the  way  Moustier  learnt  that  his  guide  was 
called  de  Prefontaine,^  that  he  had  served  in  the  army,  and 

1  Moustier's  Narrative. 

^  This  incident,  which  is  still  very  obscure,  was  the  cause  in  1865  of  a 
lawsuit  between  the  descendants  of  M.  de  Pr^fontaine  and  Alexandre 
Dumas,  who,  in  the  Boute  de  Varennes,  had  rather  carelessly  quoted 
Moustier's  assertions,  distorting  them  and  attributing  them  to  Valory.  (See 
Le  Droit  of  September  17,  1865,  et  seq .)  In  recording  it  here  we  are 
quoting  word  for  word  from  Moustier's  story,  which  is  minutely  exact  on 
every  point  and  of  incontrovertible  authority.  After  describing  his  inter- 
view with  M.  de  Pr^fontaine  and  his  walk  to  the  Cordeliers,  he  adds  :  "  As 
it  is  asserted  that  he  (Pr^fontaine),  with  so  many  others,  has  since  then 
made  many  comments  on  the  King's  arrest,  and  has  boasted,  it  is  said,  that 
if  the  King  had  been  willing  to  listen  to  him  and  follow  his  advice,  he 
would  have  saved  him,  M.  de  Moustier  owes  it  to  the  cause  of  truth  to 
declare  that  the  only  service  M.  de  Pr^fontaine  rendered,  or  was  willing  to 
render,  to  his  unhappy  rulers,  was  merely  to  show  him,  the  Comte  de 
Moustier,  the  way  to  the  quarters  of  the  officer  in  command  of  the  Lauzun^ 
hussars.  He  would  add  that  never  did  man  appear  to  him  more  frightened' 
and  pusillanimous  than  this  one  ;  that  in  the  very  slight  and  very  useless 
service  that  he  could  by  no  means  avoid  rendering  to  his  sovereigns  he 
carried  caution  to  its  extremest  limits,  and  never  ceased  enjoining  upon  the 
Comte  de  Moustier  to  be  *  silent  as  to  the  step  he  was  taking  •  •  •  •  etc' 
This  gentleman  had  the  grandest  opportunity  of  immortalising  himself  and 
making  his  name  illustrious  for  ever.  What  overwhelming  remorse 
must  have  torn  his  heart  if  he  ever  meditated  upon  his  sins,  and  upon  all 
the  outrages  and  calamities  that  he  brought  down  upon  the  best  of  masters. 
For,  from  this  moment  until  the  King  left  that  hateful  Varennes,  this 
gentleman  never  came  to  him  with  consoling  words,  never  gave  any  proof 
by  his  presence  of  that  concern  in  the  King's  welfare  that  he  had  sworn  to 
show  as  a  knight  of  his  order,  although  in  that  capacity  the  man  should 
have  been  ready  to  shed  his  blood  to  the  last  drop  on  the  King's  behalf." 

In  the  NationaZ  Archives  (D.  XXIXb,  37)  there  are  some  letters  from  a 
lady  of  Varennes,  dated  June,  1791,  and  addressed  to  her  mother  living  at 
Versailles.     These  letters  are  not  signed,  but  a  single  reading  is  enough  to 

73 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

was  a  knight  of  St.  Louis.  He  repeatedly  laid  stress  on  the 
importance  of  silence  with  regard  to  the  step  he  was  taking, 

show  that  they  were  written  by  the  wife  of  Judge  Destez,  whose  name 
appears  later  in  the  narrative.     We  note  this  passage  : — 

"  The  journey  was  premeditated,  so  much  so  that  he  was  expected  here, 
and  in  many  other  places.  ...  A  large  number  of  our  aristocrats  had  gone 
away  a  week  earlier  ;  no  one  of  importance  remained  except  Pr6fontaine, 
whose  wife  was  no  longer  there.  The  carriages  stopped  there  when  they 
arrived  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  but  the  people  there  say  they  did  not 
know  who  was  in  them.  ...  At  five  o'clock  in  the  evening  (June  22) 
Pr^fontaine  tried  to  get  away  ;  he  was  caught  in  the  wood,  and  he  and  his 
whole  household  disarmed." 

A  grand-niece  of  M.  de  Pr^fontaine's,  Madame  de  R ,  did  me  the 

honour,  in  1891,  of  sending  me  some  manuscript  notes,  from  which  I  extract 
the  following  lines  : — 

•'  My  worthy  great-uncle  (M.  de  Pr6fontaine)  spent  two  nights  and  two 
days  on  his  feet,  waiting  for  that  royal  treasure  for  the  army  which  he,  with 
his  experience,  thought  to  be  a  figure  of  speech  to  cover  the  movements  of 
people  connected  with  the  Court  and  the  royal  family.  On  this  night  of 
the  2l8t  June,  1791,  at  eleven  o'clock  in  the  evening,  M.  le  Chevalier  de 
Pr^fontaine,  being  quite  worn  out,  threw  himself  upon  his  bed  in  his 
clothes,  and  ordered  his  faithful  valet,  Cervisier,  to  wake  him  if  he  heard 
the  slightest  sound.  The  Queen  came  into  his  house  two  hours  and  a  half 
later,  and  would  not  allow  M.  de  Pr6fontaine  to  be  disturbed,  notwith- 
standing the  obvious  wishes  of  Cervisier,  who,  however,  could  not  have 
guessed  that  this  lady  dressed  in  black  silk,  with  a  sort  of  hooded  mantle 
drawn  over  her  head,  was  the  royal  treasure  that  his  master  had  told  him 
must  be  very  closely  guarded.  Cervisier,  however,  was  struck  by  the 
beauty  of  this  lady,  and  never  spoke  of  her,  even  after  long  years,  without 
saying  :  '  Ah,  she  was  indeed  beautiful.  She  asked  me  what  time  it  was  ; 
I  looked  at  my  watch  ;  Half -past  twelve,  Madame.  Then  she  went  away 
on  a  gentleman's  arm. ' " 

Not  only  are  the  hours  mentioned  here  inaccurate  (the  stop  at  the 
entrance  of  the  village  took  place  at  half -past  ten  at  the  latest,  and  the 
arrest  at  eleven  o'clock),  but  it  must  also  be  pointed  out  that  Moustier  very 
positively  affirms  that  the  Queen  did  not  get  out  of  the  carriage  and  did  not 
go  into  M.  de  Pr6fontaine^s  house.  No  other  eye-witness  contradicts  this. 
Madame  Royale,  who  records  the  incident,  is  quite  in  agreement  with 
Moustier.  However,  in  the  lawsuit  of  1865  Maitre  de  S^ze,  counsel  to  the 
heirs  of  Pr^fontaine,  supported  the  opposite  hypothesis. 

"  One  evening,"  he  said,  "in  the  night  of  June  23,  1791  {sic),  a  carriage 
drew  up  before  his  house  (Prefontaine's).  Several  persons  got  out  of  it 
and  asked  leave  to  enter.  It  was  the  Queen  {sic)  .  .  .  After  some 
moments  of  repose  she  rose,  expressed  her  thanks,  and  retired.  This  was 
an  unexpected  event,  and  quickly  over  ;  such  was  the  perfectly  clear 
tradition  of  the  family,  who  were  much  respected  in  the  neighbourhood. 
The  room  that  sheltered  the  Queen  for  a  few  minutes  was  kept  exactly  a.s 
it  was  at  that  moment,  and  became  an  object  of  pious  remembrance." — Le 
Droit,  September  17,  1865. 

Jean  Baptiste  Louis  de  Bigault  de  Pr^fontaine  was  bom  on  the  18th 
September,  1734,  at  Granham,  in  the  diocese  of  Rheims,  and  baptised  on  the 
22nd  November.  He  was  the  son  of  J.  B.  Bigault,  seigneur  of  Pr^fontaine 
and  part  of  Granham,  officer  in  the  constabulary  of  the  King's  Guard,  and 
Knight  of  St.  Louis,  and  of  Dame  Marie  Anne  de  Grathus.  He  entered  the 
constabulary  at  the  age  of  ten,  was  made  a  supernumerary  on  the  9th  June, 

74 


THE   NIGHT  OF  THE   TWENTY-FIRST 

which  he  declared  "  would  compromise  him,  would  expose 
him  to  danger,  would  be  the  undoing  of  him,  if  anyone  came 
to  hear  of  it/**  The  convent  of  the  Cordeliers  was,  after  all, 
like  every  house  in  the  town,  wrapped  in  darkness  and 
silence  :  the  lieutenant  of  hussars  was  not  there,  nor  were  his 
men.  Moustier  discovered  no  one  there  but  a  soldier  whom 
the  officer — a  German  aged  twenty-three  called  Rohrig — had 
ordered  to  "  come  and  join  him  with  his  portmanteau  if  he 
had  not  appeared  at  Varennes  by  one  o'^clock." 

Moustier  returned  through  the  town  with  this  news.  Valory 
persisted  in  searching  the  neighbouring  copse  for  the  missing 
horses.  Then  a  council  was  held  :  the  best  thing  on  the  whole 
was  to  go  on  into  Varennes  as  far  as  the  Hotel  du  Grand 
Monarqiie,  situated  at  the  farther  extremity  of  the  town,  on 
the  other  side  of  the  bridge,  in  the  lower  quarter :  if  the  relay 
were  not  there  the  horses  might  at  least  be  baited  before 
continuing  the  journey.  On  this  point  the  postillions  re- 
monstrated with  energy :  the  regulations  authorised  them  to 
refuse  to  "  double  the  stage "" ;  they  did  not  know  the  road 
beyond  Varennes ;  and  moreover,  their  mistress,  Madame 
Canitrot,  had  particularly  impressed  on  them  to  be  home  by 
the  dawn  with  the  horses  to  carry  the  hay.  However,  as 
they  could  not  stay  where  they  were,  they  consented,  on  con- 
dition of  receiving  a  good  pourboire,  to  go  as  far  as  the  Grand 
Monarque,  where  the  relay  would  doubtless  be  found,  one  of 

1750,  a  cadet  in  August  of  the  same  year,  subaltern  on  the  29th  November, 
1755,  second  lieutenant  Ist  January,  1759,  garqon-major  in  October  of  the 
same  year,  soua-aide-major  in  1761,  captain  in  1765,  and  Knight  of  St. 
Louis  while  junior  captain  in  the  Metz  Regiment  of  the  Royal  Artillery 
Corps,  15th  December,  1772. 

He  retired  on  the  Ist  January,  1777,  with  a  pension  of  600  livrea  from 
the  funds  of  the  Artillery  and  300  livrea  from  the  royal  treasury,  granted 
to  him  from  July  27,  1769.  He  lived  quietly  at  Varennes,  where  he 
managed  the  Prince  de  Condi's  estates  in  the  Clermontois.  M.  de  Pr6fon- 
taine  and  his  wife  died  as  emigres  in  Brunswick. — Archives  of  the  War 
Office. 

To  sum  up,  it  appears  certain  that  Pr^fontaine  was  aware  of  the  impend- 
ing journey  of  the  royal  family.  We  may  well  suppose  that  between  him 
and  Goguelat,  who  had  gone  over  the  route  several  times,  and  had  espe- 
cially stayed  at  Varennes,  there  was  the  feeling  of  good  fellowship  that 
exists  among  old  comrades  in  arms.  No  doubt  Goguelat  confided  to  Pr^fon- 
taine  the  secret  of  his  business  there.  This  theory  would  explain  why 
Pr^fontaine  spent  the  night  on  watch  behind  his  door,  and  also  his  words 
to  Moustier,  **  We  know  quite  well  who  it  is— it  is  not  just  a  lady." 

76 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

them,  indeed,  Amould,  observing  that  while  they  were  wait- 
ing he  had  heard  in  the  distance  the  hurried  gallop  of  two 
horses,  "two  post-horses;  his  practised  ear  could  not  be 
deceived."  ^  They  all  took  their  places  again  in  the  berline, 
and  started  afresh,  Valory  leading,  then  the  cabriolet 
followed  by  Maiden  on  horseback,  and  finally  the  berline, 
with  its  six  horses  at  a  foofs  pace,  and  the  drag  on  its  wheels 
on  account  of  the  hill. 

Now  Arnould  had  not  been  deceived.  The  sound  of  gallop- 
ing that  he  had  heard  in  the  distance  was  that  of  the  two 
horses  that  carried  Drouet  and  Guillaume.  Being  familiar 
with  all  the  short  cuts,  they  avoided  the  high-road,  since  at 
Varennes,  as  at  Sainte-Menehould  and  Clermont,  a  detach- 
ment of  cavalry  might  be  guarding  the  approaches  to  the 
town  and  thus  check  their  advance.  They  reached  the  river 
by  a  byway ,^  and  while  Drouet  went  on  into  the  upper  town 
to  make  sure  that  the  carriages  had  not  passed  through 
before  him,  Guillaume  explored  the  space  round  the  church 
and  the  entrance  of  the  Grand  Monarque. 

*  Louis  XVI  d  Varennes,  by  Ancelon. 

^  Either  by  the  Mont-Blainville  road,  or  by  the  mill.  Most  of  the  narra- 
tives support  each  other  in  saying  that  Drouet  and  Guillaume,  as  they 
entered  Varennes,  passed  at  full  gallop  close  to  the  royal  carriages  as  they 
stood  before  Pr^fontaine's  house  ;  several  even,  relying  on  Valory's  narra- 
tive, which  is  altogether  imaginary  and  wrong  on  nearly  every  point,  add 
that  Drouet,  as  he  drew  near  to  the  berline,  called  out  to  the  postillions 
that  they  were  to  go  no  further,  and  revealed  to  them  that  they  were 
driving  the  King.  There  is  not  a  word  of  all  this  in  the  depositions  of  the 
eye-witnesses.  Moustier  does  not  say  a  word,  nor  Madame  Roy  ale,  nor 
Madame  de  Tourzel ;  Valory  himself,  when  questioned  in  the  Abbaye 
prison,  July  26th,  1791,  by  the  Commissioners  of  the  Tribunal  of  the  First 
Ward  of  Paris,  said  nothing  of  Drouet's  passing  by,  though  in  this  exami- 
nation he  was  very  precise  as  to  the  facts  and  circumstances  of  the  arrest. 
Of  all  who  were  present,  then,  not  one  saw  the  passing  of  the  two  horse- 
men, and  certainly  it  was  not  an  incident  likely  to  be  forgotten.  It  is  true 
that  Drouet  says  in  his  account  before  the  Assembly  :  "  The  carriages 
were  drawn  up  in  the  shadow  of  the  houses  ;  there  was  a  dispute  going  on 
between  the  postillions  and  the  drivers  of  the  carriages  "  ;  but  he  does  not 
say  he  saw  them;  and  if  he  did  see  them  in  the  distance  as  he  rode  up  the 
town,  as  is  very  probable,  he  would  certainly  have  done  his  best  to  avoid 
passing  near  these  carriages,  which  he  knew  to  be  accompanied  by  three 
resolute  men  from  whom  he  had  everything  to  fear.  This  is,  indeed,  the 
only  version  by  which  we  can  harmonise  the  statements  of  the  witnesses 
and  actors  in  the  drama,  and  can  avoid  bringing  a  charge  of  imposture — as 
Victor  Fournel  and  so  many  others  have  been  reduced  to  doing — against 
the  very  curious  and  picturesque  statement  of  James  Brisack,  one  of  the 
superintendents  of  M,  de  Choiseul's  stables. 

76 


(tUILLAUME. 


THE   NIGHT   OF   THE   TWENTY-FIRST 

It  was  there  that  for  the  last  fourteen  hours  the  relay  had 
been  ready — hoi*ses  bridled  and  harnessed,  postillions  booted 
— in  charge  of  two  young  officers,  M.  de  Bouille  JUs  and 
M.  de  Raigecourt,  who  were  waiting  to  take  up  their  position 
at  the  upper  end  of  the  town  till  some  messenger — Goguelat, 
Moustier,  or  Valory — should  warn  them  of  the  approach  of 
the  royal  carriages.  Although  the  hour  that  had  been 
approximately  fixed  for  the  King'*s  arrival  was  long  past,  the 
two  young  men,  true  to  their  instructions,  did  not  move  from 
the  hotel.  They  had  supped  at  ten  o'clock,  and  to  allay 
suspicion  in  the  mind  of  the  landlord  they  ordered  beds  to  be 
prepared  for  them,  retired  to  their  room,  extinguished  the 
lights  to  give  the  impression  that  they  were  in  bed,  and  sat 
watching  at  the  open  window. 

James  Brisack,  one  of  the  postillions,  having  supped  with 
his  comrade,  Tom,  was  enjoying  the  fresh  air  at  the  door  of 
the  Grand  Monarque.  At  half  past  ten  they  took  a  stroll 
together  round  the  square  in  the  lower  town,  which  was  quite 
deserted  and  very  quiet.  They  were  returning  to  the  inn 
when  Brisack  heard  "  several  strokes  of  a  whip,  and  a  man 
crying  ho  !  hu  !  ho  ! ""  As  there  was  no  moon,  he  did  not  see 
the  man,  but  he  called  to  him  and  asked  him  what  he 
wanted.  The  man,  who  was  Guillaume,^  answered  "  that 
he  was  chasing  a  carriftge,  and  was  calling  for  someone  to  tell 
him  whether  it  had  been  seen  to  pass.'*''  Brisa<;k  assured  him 
that  no  carriage  had  been  seen  since  the  morning,  except  a 
cabriolet  conveying  some  of  M.  de  Choiseurs  people;  the 
other  explained  that  "  that  was  not  what  he  was  looking  for ; 
the  carriage  he  was  inquiring  for  was  a  large  berline  which 
could  not  have  passed  more  than  half  an  hour  ago  " ;  upon 
which  Brisack  again  declared  that  no  berline  had  gone 
through  the  town.  Guillaume  spoke  with  Brisack  for  some 
minutes,  then  he  crossed  the  bridge  again  and  returned  to  the 
upper  town.  Brisack  was  strolling  about  for  another  quarter 
of  an  hour  in  the  square  in  front  of  the  church,  before  going 

*  It  was  Guillaume  and  not  Drouet,  for  the  latter  would  not  have  failed 
to  record  in  his  very  detailed — and  very  lengthy — Narrative  this  chance 
by  which  one  of  the  servants  posted  there  to  facilitate  the  progress  of 
the  royal  family  had,  on  the  contrary,  a  share  in  the  arrest,  through  giving 
this  information. 

77 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

in  to  stretch  himself  on  the  straw  near  his  horses — for  M.  de 
Bouille  had  given  strict  orders  that  all  was  to  be  ready  at  the 
first  word  of  command — when  he  heard  a  disturbance  on  the 
farther  side  of  the  river,  the  sound  of  a  dispute  and  of  people 
calling  to  one  another.  Brisack  ran  to  the  spot.  The  inn  of 
the  Bras  (TOr^  kept  by  Jean  Leblanc,  at  a  distance  of  a  few 
steps  from  the  bridge,  in  the  Rue  de  la  Basse  Cour,  which  led 
to  the  upper  town,  was  still  lit  up.  This  was  the  scene  of  the 
disturbance.^ 

Drouet   and  Guillaume  were  there;  also  some  youths  of 
the  town,  all  patriots  :  there  was  Paul,  the  brother  of  Jean 
Leblanc,  with  Joseph  Ponsin,  Regnier  the  lawyer,  and  Justin 
George,  Captain  of  the  National  Guard  and  son  of  the  Mayor 
and  local  deputy  to  the  Assembly.    They  had  lingered  to  talk 
politics  with  two  visitors  to  the  town,  Thennevin  from  Les 
Islettes,  and   Delion  from  Montfaucon,  who  had   come  to 
Varennes  that  day  on  business,  and  were  to  sleep  at  the  Bras 
d'Or?'     Drouet,  being  assured  by  Guillaume  that  the  royal 
berline  had  not  yet  crossed  the  bridge,  had  returned  up  the 
main  street  to  the  entrance  to  the  town,  had  seen  in  the 
distance  the  lanterns  of  the  two  carriages,  "  crouching  for 
safety  under  the  houses,*"  ^  and  heard  the  discussion  between 
Moustier  and  the  postillions,  who  refused  to  go  further.    He 
ran  down  again  as  quickly  as  possible  to  the  Bras  cCOr^  and 
dropped  like  a  bolt  from  the  blue  into  the  little  group  :  "  Be 
on  your  guard  ;  a  berline  is  on  the  point  of  passing,  full  of 
travellers  who  are  most  probably  the  King  and  his  family." 
Drouet  thinks  he  recognised  them  at  Sainte-Menehould,  but 
is  not  quite  sure.    He  took  time  by  the  forelock  and  has  stolen 
a  march  on  them.  .  .  .  There  is  not  an  instant  to  lose  if  they 
mean  to  stop  the  carriages — which  are  there  at  the  top  of  the 
street — and  to  call  on  the  travellers  within  to  show  their  pass- 
ports.    This  is  indeed  agitating  !     The  King !    At  Varennes  ! 
In  that  peaceful  little  town,  where  all  the  morning  the  women 
and  girls  have  been  sitting  before  their  doors  twining  garlands 

^  Declaration  de  James  Brisack^  attacM  a  V6curie  de  M.  le  Due  de  ChoisetU, 
appended  to  Choiseul's  Narrative. 

^  Second  official  Report  of  the  Municipality  of  Varennes. 

^  Drouet's  Account  to  the  Assembly.  Parliamentary  Archives,  vol. 
xxvii.  p.  508. 

78 


THE   NIGHT  OF  THE  TWENTY-FIRST 

of  moss  and  chains  of  paper  for  the  Feast  of  Corpus  Christi 
two  days  hence !  ^  Quick — they  are  putting  their  heads 
together ;  what  shall  they  do  ?  Give  the  alarm  ?  No — first 
barricade  the  bridge :  Pere  Wacquanfs  van  of  furniture  ^  is 
waiting  there,  loaded  and  ready  to  start ;  it  will  do  finely  for 
a  barricade.  Drouet  and  Regnier  drag  it  to  the  bridge  and 
leave  it  there,  across  the  road ;  ^  and  as  they  pass  they  awake 
the  grocer  Sauce,  procuretir  of  the  commune,  who  lives  nearly 
opposite  the  Bras  (TOr.  Sauce  covers  his  shirt  with  an  over- 
coat, and  hastily  comes  out  of  his  house ;  being  informed  of 
the  situation  in  a  word,  he  runs  to  the  house  of  his  neighbour, 
Pultier  the  tanner,  who  in  the  absence  of  the  Mayor  fills  the 
office  of  that  functionary ;  he  then  returns  to  his  house,  calls 
his  children,  and  bids  them  dress  themselves  and  run  crying 
"  Fire !  ^  about  the  town  ;  then  he  comes  back  to  the  Bras 
cTOr^  furnished  this  time  with  a  lantern.  The  two  brothers 
Leblanc  are  armed  with  muskets ;  and  as  the  main  street, 
which  slopes  sharply  all  the  way  from  Prefontaine's  house  to 
the  bridge,  passes  through,  at  about  the  middle  of  its  course, 
a  covered  passage  built  under  the  church  of  St.  Gengoult, 
they  take  up  their  position  under  the  arch  at  the  very  moment 
that  the  carriages  are  heard  approaching  at  a  foot's  pace,  with 
the  drag  on  the  wheels.  First  a  horseman  appears ;  it  is 
Valory.      They   wait   till   he  is   under   the   arch,  and  then 

^  Statement  of  James  Brisack. 

*  Natimal  Archives,  D.  XXIXb,  37. 

*  '♦  We  bethought  ourselves  that  it  would  not  do  to  give  the  call  to  arms 
or  sound  the  alarm  before  having  barricaded  the  streets  and  the  bridge  by 
which  the  King  was  to  leave  the  town.  There  was  on  the  spot,  quite  close, 
a  large  carriage  loaded  with  furniture ;  we  placed  it  crosswise  on  the 
bridge,  then  we  went  to  fetch  several  other  carriages,  so  that  the  roads 
were  blocked  to  such  a  degree  that  it  was  impossible  to  pass." — Drouet's 
Account  to  the  Assembly,  Parliamentary  Archives,  XXVII,  p.  508, 

Gabriel  writes:  **They  upset  the  carriage  across  the  bridge."  They 
placed  it  there,  on  the  contrary,  without  making  any  noise,  since  the  two 
oflBcers,  BoniMv  Jiln  and  Raigecourt,  who  were  in  the  Chand  Monarque  ten 
yards  from  the  bridge,  heard  nothing.  **  Having  returned  to  our  room," 
relates  Raigecourt,  *•  we  extinguished  the  lights  in  order  to  make  believe 
that  we  were  in  bed  ;  we  opened  the  windows  and  kept  profoundly  silent. 
Towards  midnight,  several  persons  passed  to  and  fro  in  the  street,  but 
without  much  noise  ;  they  even  stopped  under  our  windows,  but  it  was  at 
no  time  possible  to  hear  what  they  were  talking  about.  Between  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  and  half  an  hour  afterwards  the  tocsin  was  rung. " — 
Expose  de  la  conduite  de  M.  de  Raigecourt,  appended  to  de  Bouille's 
Memoirs. 

79 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

suddenly  the  two  men  spring  out  of  the  darkness.  "  Halt ! 
Stand,  or  we  fire  !  '*''  Valory  dismounts,  "  protesting  against 
this  unpardonable  violence  towards  peaceable  travellers."  The 
cabriolet  draws  up  abruptly  under  the  arch,  and  amid  the 
shouts  of  the  postillions  the  sudden  jerk  is  inevitably  re- 
peated by  the  six  horses  of  the  berline,  so  closely  is  it  follow- 
ing the  other  carriage.     The  Leblancs  had  approached  the 


THE  "GRAND  MONARQUE "  HOTEL  AT  VARENNES. 


cabriolet ;  the  two  women-of-the-bedchamber  showed  their 
frightened  faces  at  the  window ;  on  being  asked  for  their 
passports  they  answered  "  that  they  were  in  the  second 
carriage,""  and  then,  overcome  with  fear,  they  alighted  from 
the  cabriolet.  The  two  brothers  went  forward  to  the 
berline,  which  had  drawn  up  at  the  entrance  to  the  arch, 
and  seemed  colossal  as  it  loomed  there  in  the  shadow, 
with  its  two  great  lamps  and  reflectors  and  its  enormous 
pyramid  of  luggage.  The  windows  were  already  lowered, 
and  Madame  de  Tourzel,  with  an  anxious  face,  was  leaning 
out.  Behind  the  Leblancs  were  Thennevin  and  Delion, 
also  armed  with  muskets ;  Justin  George,  Ponsin,  Coquillard, 
all  of  whom  were  National  Guards,  and  armed;  and  the 
procureur  Sauce    bearing   his  lantern.     Some  hussars   who 

80 


THE  NIGHT  OF  THE   TWENTY-FIRST 

were   sauntering   about   the   town    had   joined    the   group, 
attracted  by  the  noise.^ 

The  berline  was  surrounded.     Where  are  the  passports? 

^  The  reader  will  be  surprised  that  the  sixty  hussars  quartered  in 
Varennes,  and  intended  to  secure  the  King's  safety  as  he  passed  through 
the  town,  do  not  here  appear  in  the  story.  The  reason  is  that  they  did 
not  appear  in  reality.  After  having  very  conscientiously  studied  this  par- 
ticular point  in  the  history  of  the  King's  flight  I  was  reduced  to  asking 
myself  what  could  possibly  have  become  of  those  soldiers.  We  have  seen 
that  Moustier,  whose  first  thought  had  been  to  get  himself  taken  to  their 
quarters,  had  found  the  place  dark  and  silent :  he  did  not  find  their  officer 
Kohrig  there.  And  what  seems  still  more  extraordinary  is  that  at  eleven 
o'clock — that  is  to  say,  at  the  time  when  the  royal  carriages  were  in  the 
upper  town — Captain  de  Raigecourt  went  to  Lieutenant  Rohrig  and  warned 
him  "  to  prepare  instantly  to  escort  a  treasure  which  would  soon  arrive, 
and  which  he  was  to  take  to  Dun."  On  Rohrig  objecting  "that  his 
detachment  being  of  sixty  men,  it  would  suflBce  to  take  forty,"  Raigecourt 
answered  **  that  it  would  be  better  that  he  should  hold  his  whole  detach- 
ment in  readiness."  Raigecourt  adds  that  Rohrig  "  repaired  instantly  to 
the  quarters  of  his  hussars  to  comply  with  the  order  to  have  his  sixty 
horses  saddled  and  bridled,  and  the  men  beside  them."  It  may  have  been, 
Raigecourt  observes,  a  quarter  past  eleven. 

It  must  have  been  at  this  precise  moment  that  Moustier  arrived  at  the 
spot  and  found  no  one  there  !  I  repeat  that  it  is  in  every  way  inexplicable. 
The  Marquis  de  Bouill^  (Count  Louis)  declares  plainly  that  as  soon  as  the 
King  was  arrested  the  detachment  of  h^issars  teas  instantly  mustered  ;  but 
Count  Louis  was  not  there  ;  it  was  his  brother  the  Chevalier  who,  together 
with  Raigecourt,  had  been  put  in  charge  of  the  relay  of  horses  at  Varennes. 
Raigecourt,  then,  is  the  person  to  be  TOlieved.  He  remarks  :  '*  During  the 
day  I  had  noticed  that  all  the  hussars  I  had  seen  were  drunk."  However 
drunk  they  may  be,  sixty  hussars,  in  a  little  town  as  small  as  Varennes,  do 
not  disappear  suddenly  and  simultaneously.  And  not  one  of  them  can  we 
find.  For  it  is  not  possible  to  adopt  Drouet's  version  in  his  account  to  the 
Assembly.  At  the  moment  that  the  Varennois  stopped  the  carriage,  he 
declared,  the  latter  was  suddenly  surrounded  by  hussars  tvith  sioords  in 
their  hands.  None  but  he  gave  this  detail.  Madame  Neuville,  who  was 
the  first  to  alight  from  the  carriage,  asserts  to  the  contrary  in  her  exami- 
nation **  that  she  did  not  see  any  hussars  or  dragoons  on  the  road,  even  at 
Varennes. "  It  is  not  conceivable,  moreover,  that  if  the  hussars  had  really 
been  there,  they  should  not  have  succeeded  in  dispersing  the  eight  or  ten 
bourgeois  who  barred  the  way.  Raigecourt  declares  that  an  hour  later, 
after  all  Varennes  had  been  awakened  and  was  in  the  street,  "  ten  really 
determined  men,  perhaps  less,  might  have  routed  this  bewildered  mob." 
All  that  I  have  been  able  to  find  in  the  Archives  of  the  War  Office  with 
regard  to  this  strange  circumstance  is  the  following  note  concerning  the 
officer  who  commanded  the  detachment :  '*  Leonard  Rohrig,  born  at 
Neuhausen  in  the  diocese  of  Worms,  April  27,  1768,  acting  second- 
lieutenant  in  the  regiment  of  the  Lauzun  Hussars,  May  Ist,  1787,  second- 
lieutenant  on  active  service  May  27,  1789,  waa  present  at  the  afliair  of 
Nancy  on  August  31,  1790,  abandoned  his  post  on  the  22nd  Jfne,  1791, 
at  Varennes,  on  the  occasion  of  the  King's  arrest." — Archives  <^ the  War 
Office.  ^ 

Nothing  more  transpires  as  to  this  officer  and  his  inexplicable  dis- 
appearance ;  indeed,  it  seems  as  though  we  should  never  know  what 
became  of  him. 

81  G 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

"  Be  quick,  please,  we  are  in  a  hurry  to  reach  the  end  of  our 
journey,"  said  the  Queen's  voice  sharply.  Madame  de  Tourzel 
produced  the  passport,  and  handed  it  to  the  terrified  Madame 
Brunier,  who  was  standing  near  the  door,  while  Madame 
Neuville,  much  upset,  pressed  closely  to  her  side.  The  two 
ladies  were  then  pushed  into  the  hall  of  the  Bras  d'Or,  the 
entrance  to  which  was  just  beyond  the  arch ;  and  here  they 
found  Drouet,  Guillaume,  Pultier  the  municipal  officer,  and  a 
few  late  revellers,  among  whom  were  four  or  five  hussars,^ 
half  drunk  and  wholly  indifferent,  who  understood  nothing 
and  spoke  only  German.  Sauce  took  the  paper  from  the 
hands  of  Madame  Brunier  and  read  it  aloud  deliberately. 
"  This  passport  is  perfectly  valid,"  said  a  voice.  To  this  other 
voices  agreed ;  it  was  a  false  alarm :  there  wsis  no  reason  to 
prevent  the  travellers  from  going  on  their  journey.  Such  was 
the  general  opinion,  when  Drouet,  in  a  fury,  intervened — 
raged,  swore,  stormed,  attacking  now  Pultier  and  Sauce,  now 
Madame  Neuville  and  Madame  Brunier,  who  looked  on 
astounded.  "  I  am  certain  now  that  it  is  the  King  and  his 
family,""  he  cried.  "If  you  allow  him  to  go  away  into  a 
foreign  country  you  will  be  guilty  of  the  crime  of  high 
treason.""  2  The  men  of  Varennes,  disturbed  by  this  bold 
assertion,  but  fearful  of  responsibility,  hesitated  and  took 
counsel  with  one  another.  It  was  decided  to  detain  the 
travellers  till  the  morning.  Then  Sauce  returned  to  the 
carriage,  which  had  passed  through  the  arch  during  this 
colloquy,  and  was  drawn  up  in  front  of  the  Bras  cPOr.  He 
was   still  holding  his  lantern,  and  now  thrust  it  at  arm's 

1  "She  saw,  in  the  lower  room  in  which  she  was,  four  or  five  hussars 
asking  for  drink." — Examination  of  Madame  Neuville. 

^  "  Pultier,  the  municipal  ofl&cer  who  was  acting  as  mayor,  some  of  his 
colleagues,  and  even  the  procureur  of  the  commune,  thought  the  passport 
that  was  shown  to  them  was  certainly  valid,  and  should  secure  permission 
for  the  travellers  to  go  on  their  way  ;  the  greater  number,  indeed,  approved 
of  the  idea.  It  was  Drouet  who  opposed  it  so  violently,  appealing  to  the 
municipal  officers,  to  the  people  who  had  already  crowded  round,  to  the 
travellers  themselves,  behaving  like  a  madman,  and  frightening  these  poor 
people  about  their  responsibility  by  repeating  over  and  over  again  in 
different  words  :  '  I  am  sure  that  the  carriage  we  have  stopped  contains 
the  King  and  his  family  :  if  you  allow  him  to  go  on  into  a  foreign  country 
you  will  be  guilty  of  the  crime  of  treason,'  that  at  last  he  carried  everyone 
with  him  willy-nilly." — Victor  Fournel,  L'^v6nement  de  Varennes.  (In- 
formation given  by  eye-witnesses. ) 

82 


THE   NIGHT   OF   THE   TWENTY-FIRST 

length  into  the  berline,  with  the  object  of  casting  light  on  all 
the  faces,  but  as  he  had  never  seen  the  King  or  the  Queen,  his 
perplexity  was  as  great  as  before.  He  addressed  the  latter, 
however,  telling  her  that  the  party  must  alight,  and  that  the 
passport  would  be  endorsed  in  the  morning.  The  travellers 
protested,  saying  that  the  least  delay  might  cause  them  con- 
siderable inconvenience,  for  which  the  municipality  of  Varennes 
would  be  held  responsible.  A  discussion  followed,  in  which 
Sauce  merely  reiterated,  "  To-morrow  morning  we  shall  see." 
Moreover,  "  the  horses  could  not  go  on  without  a  rest ;  the 
roads  were  bad  ;  the  night  was  so  dark  that  they  would  come 
to  grief."  Yet  there  was  no  hint  that  could  lead  the  fugitives 
to  believe  that  they  were  recognised.  "  Come,  postillions,  let 
us  go  on,"  said  the  King,  taking  the  matter  into  his  own 
hands.  But  instantly  the  muskets  were  raised,  with  the  cry, 
"  Not  a  step  farther,  or  we  fire  !  "  The  King,  leaning  out  of 
the  window,  saw  that  a  large  collection  of  people  had  gathered 
round  the  horses ;  the  postillions  had  dismounted ;  the  sound 
of  distant  shouts  was  heard,  rousing  the  town,  while  close  at 
hand  the  tocsin  was  ringing  above  the  arch,  in  the  tower  of 
St.  Gengoult.  Lights  were  appearing  in  the  windows ;  the 
whole  town  was  awaking. 

It  was  all  very  well  to  bid  them  alight,  but  where  were 
they  to  spend  the  night  ?  Sauce  politely  put  his  house  at 
the  disposal  of  the  travellers.  It  was  but  three  hours  to  the 
dawn.  The  door  was  opened  and  they  alighted,  the  crowd 
drawing  back.  Were  these  indeed  the  King  and  Queen  ? 
No  one  present  had  ever  seen  them ;  they  had  been  pictured 
quite  otherwise.  They  took  a  few  steps  in  the  street,  eagerly 
followed.  Sauce's  grocery  shop  stood  on  the  left — a  wooden 
building  with  a  narrow  frontage,  into  which  Sauce  preceded 
his  guests,  guiding  them  with  his  lantern  lifted  high.  And 
now  they  were  in  his  shop — a  low  room  with  rafters  hung 
about  with  dangling  candles.  The  sound  of  the  tocsin, 
which  was  still  ringing,  wfis  now  reinforced  by  the  noise  of 
the  drum  beating  to  arms.  By  this  time  the  whole  popula- 
tion of  Varennes  was  in  the  street.  What  an  awakening  ! 
The  King,  the  King  of  France,  and  the  beautiful  Queen,  and 
their  own  Dauphin  whose  picture  they  had  so  often  seen, 

83  G  2 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

were  at  Pere  Sauce's  house  !  The  men  seized  their  muskets, 
their  scythes,  old  sabres,  anything  they  could  find  by  way  of 
a  weapon :  the  women  ran  downstairs  in  their  night-garments. 
At  Sauce's  house  nothing  was  to  be  seen ;  the  travellers  were 


THE  EUE  DE  LA 


BASSE  CODR  AND  SAUCE's  HOUSE  AT  VARENNES. 


in  the  room  behind  the  shop  and  the  doors  were  closed ;  but 
before  the  Bras  cTOr  the  crowd  gathered  to  stare  at  the  two 
women-of-the-bedchamber,  who,  motionless  and  overwhelmed, 
were  seated  beside  a  table  in  the  taproom. 

This  end  of  the  street,  usually  so  deserted  and  quiet,  was 
on  this  night  in  a  constant  state  of  commotion.  Some  men 
dragged  out  some   old  pieces  of  ordnance   that   had   been 

84 


THE  NIGHT   OF  THE  TWENTY-FIRST 

preserved  at  the  town  hall/  and  mounted  them  on  the 
Clermont  road,  which  they  were  barricading  by  means  of  two 
pieces  of  wood  and  some  faggots  they  had  taken  from  a 
shed. 2  In  a  moment  they  had  made  all  their  arrangements 
for  a  siege  with  a  spontaneity  and  unanimity  of  decision  that 
were  really  surprising.  Varennes  that  night  was  inspired 
with  heroism. 

The  King  had  not  been  at  Sauce's  house  for  more  than  an 
hour  when  the  whole  town  was  aroused  by  a  cry,  "The 
hussars,  the  hussars  are  coming ! "  The  detachment  of 
Lauzun's  men  had  at  last  arrived  from  Pont-de-Somme-Vesle 
through  the  woods,  with  Choiseul  and  Goguelat  at  its  head. 
Even  from  the  forest  they  had  heard  the  tocsin  and  seen  the 
lights  of  Varennes.  As  they  reached  the  first  houses  of  the 
town  they  were  stopped.  "  Qui  vive  ?""  "  France — the 
I^uzun  hussars !  "^  Two  men  clung  to  the  bridle  of 
ChoiseuFs  horse  :  "  You  cannot  come  into  the  town  without 
an  order  from  the  corporation.*"  He  struck  them  aside  with 
the  flat  of  his  sword  and  passed  on,^  dashing  into  the  lighted 
streets  of  the  crowded,  delirious,  agitated  town.  He  noticed 
the  horseless  cabriolet  and  berline  side  by  side  in  a  narrow 
street,  and  farther  on  he  was  surprised  to  see  "  a  numerous 
guard  before  a  poor-looking  house '' ;  but  he  pushed  on,  for 
he  was  looking  for  Rohrig  the  lieutenant  and  his  hussars. 

In  the  quarter  of  the  Cordeliers  he  learnt  from  some 
stablemen  that  the  soldiers  "had  all  dispersed  to  drink 
about  the  town,  and  that  there  was  no  officer.'"  Then  he 
rode  up  the  street  again  to  join  his  men,  who  were  being 
inspected  by  a  constable  and  had  drawn  themselves  up  in 
line  in  a  narrow  square  opposite  Prefontaine'*s  house,  before  a 
building  that  had  stood  there  for  six  centuries  and  contained 
the  town  hall,  the  courts  of  justice,  the  prison,  and  the 
market-place.*     Choiseul  harangued  his  men,  informing  them 

^  There  was  at  Varennes  in  1791  a  company  of  artillery  commanded  by 
Etienne  Radet.  The  guns,  which  numbered  two,  were,  according  to 
Drouet,  obsolete ;  one  of  them,  it  appears,  was  of  wood.  See  the 
M&mo%res  du  G4n<iral  Radet,  by  A.  Combier,  1892. 

^  Choiseul's  Narrative.  ^  Choiseul's  Narrative. 

*  Mamiscrit  de  Antonin  Amdble  Coulonvattx,  late  door-keeper  and 
treasurer  of  the  parish  church  of  Varennes.  "There  was  in  1791,  in  the 
Castle  Square,  an  ancient  edifice  known  as  the  Palais.    It  was  the  court- 

85 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

"  that  those  whom  they  were  to  save,  or  die  in  the  attempt, 
were  the  King  and  Queen,  and  that  they  would  win  for 
themselves  everlasting  glory."  ^  The  worn  out  hussars  looked 
at  each  other  in  bewilderment;  none  of  them  understood 
French.  Der  Konig,  die  Konigin!  was  all  they  grasped. 
At  that  moment  the  dim  outline  of  Sauce''s  tall,  spare  figure 
appeared  upon  the  scene  :  "  it  had  occurred  to  the  poor  man, 
perplexed  as  he  was,  and  shaken  by  the  denials  of  his  guests, 
to  fetch  from  his  house  at  the  courts  of  justice  a  certain 
judge  named  Destez,  who  had  married  at  Versailles  and  had 
often  seen  the  royal  family.  Destez  hastily  dressed  himself, 
bidding  his  wife  "not  to  be  anxious,  as  he  would  come  back.*" 
Sauce  led  him  away,  and  it  was  then  that,  in  passing  the 
town  hall,  he  overheard  ChoiseuPs  harangue  to  the  hussars. 
Whereupon  he  too  made  them  a  speech,  which  naturally 
they  understood  as  little  as  the  other. 

"  My  fine  fellows,  we  think  the  King  is  in  our  town.  But 
you  are  too  good  citizens  to  encourage  his  flight,  which  can 
only  be  accomplished  at  the  cost  of  bloodshed  ! ''  ^  The  men 
looked  vacantly  at  each  other :  Choiseul  gave  the  order 
"  Fours  right !  *"  and  hurried  them  off  at  a  trot.  This 
charge  emptied  the  main  street ;  the  women  screamed,  and 
the  mob  crowded  round  the  doors  to  let  the  soldiers  pass. 
In  the  light  of  the  rays  that  streamed  from  every  window 
the  horsemen  crossed  the  town,  sword  in  hand ;  then,  as  they 
reached  Sauce's  house,  halted  and  drew  themselves  up  in  line 
before  it.  And  the  royal  family,  from  their  corner  in  the 
upper  room  to  which  they  had  been  led,  heard  the  trampling 
of  the  horses  and  the  sound  of  the  words  of  command,  and 
exchanged  hopeful  glances.  "  Here  are  the  hussars  :  we  are 
saved.""     The  door  opened  and  Sauce  entered,  pushing  Destez 

house  of  the  bailliwick  of  Argonne  or  Clermont,  whose  bench  sat  in  the 
town  of  Varennes,  and  it  entirely  covered  the  ground  of  the  square.  It 
was  very  spacious,  and  comprised  the  prisons,  the  public  market-place, 
&c.  This  old  building  was  still  used  as  a  town  hall,  but  as  it  had  fallen 
into  ruins  it  was  determined  to  pull  it  down  between  the  years  1793  and 
1795.  At  the  time  of  the  King's  arrest  the  present  town  hall  in  the 
market-square  was  being  built ;  it  was  raised  on  the  site  of  the  old  public 
bakeries  of  the  Prince  de  Conde." 

^  Choiseul's  Narrative,  and  the  Reports  of  M.  Aubriot  that  are  appended 
to  it. 

2  Second  Oflficial  Report  of  the  Municipality  of  Varennes. 

86 


BRIDGE   OVKR   THE   AIRE   AT   VAKENNK; 


PRKFONTAINE's    HOUSE   AT   VARE>'NES. 


THE    NIGHT   OF   THE   TWENTY-FIRST 

before  him.  The  latter  looked  about  him.  Where  are  they, 
then  ?  Then  he  saw  the  group  in  the  murky  darkness  :  the 
three  women  seated,  holding  the  two  children,  and,  walking 
to  and  fro  beside  them  with  a  characteristic  waddle,  a  fat, 
sullen-looking  man  in  a  coarse  peruke  and  a  grey  coat. 
There  was  no  doubt  about  the  matter :  this  was  Louis  XVI. 

Destez  fell  upon  his  knees. 

"  Ah,  Sire  !  "  he  said.  ^ 

Then,  suddenly  overcome  by  emotion,  Louis  XVI  confessed 
the  truth. 

"  Well  then,  yes,  I  am  your  King  !  ^ 

And  he  folded  Sauce  the   grocer  in  his  arms.      Having 

*  When  Victor  Hugo  visited  Varennes  in  1838  he  picked  up  the  following 
tradition  there  :  **  This  is  the  story  they  tell  in  that  country.  The  King 
was  eagerly  denving  that  he  was  the  King  (which  Charles  I  would  not  have 
done,  we  may  observe  in  passing).  He  was  about  to  be  released  for  the 
lack  of  someone  to  identify  him  with  certainty,  when  one  M.  d'Ethe 
arrived  on  the  scene,  who  had  some  reason,  I  do  not  know  what,  for 
hating  the  Court.  This  M.  d'Eth^  (I  do  not  know  if  that  is  the  right  way 
of  spelling  the  name,  but  any  way  will  do  to  spell  the  name  of  a  traitor), 
this  man,  then,  approached  the  King  after  the  manner  of  Judas,  saying, 
Oood  morning,  Sire.  That  was  enough  ;  the  King  was  held  a  prisoner. 
There  were  five  royal  persons  in  the  carriage ;  this  wretched  man  struck 
down  all  the  five  with  one  word.  For  Louis  XVI,  Marie  Autoinette,  and 
Madame  Elizabeth  this  Good  morning,  Sire,  meant  the  guillotine,  for  the 
Dauphin  it  meant  the  agony  of  the  Temple,  and  for  Madame  Royale  exile 
and  the  extinction  of  her  race." — Le  Rh\n,  Letter  III. 

It  is  very  probable  that  M.  Destez  was  both  unconscious  and  undesirous 
of  committing  so  many  crimes  by  reco^ising  the  King  ;  but  it  is  always 
good  to  record  a  tradition,  and  indeed  it  is  very  certain  that  Victor  Hugo 
has  here  onlv  added  a  dramatic  touch  to  a  local  legend.  What  reason  for 
hating  the  (jourt  could  this  judge  have  ?  I  do  not  know.  But  there  is  no 
doubt  that  the  letters  of  Madame  Destez,  which  are  lying  in  a  portfolio  of 
National  Archives,  are  written  with  an  extremely  sharp  pen,  and  are 
singularly  hostile  to  the  royal  family. 

Jacques  Destez,  bom  in  1758,  was  a  son  of  the  Pr^vot  de  BrieuUes 
(Ardennes).  We  hear  of  him  as  a  merchant  in  Paris  or  at  Versailles  (?) 
when  he  married  in  the  latter  town  before  the  Revolution.  He  married 
Marie  Henriette  Lasalle.  The  marriage,  although  entered  in  the  registers 
of  Versailles,  took  place  at  Garches  (Seine-et-Oise)  in  May,  1782.  In  1789 
Destez  was  a  delegate  of  the  tiers  6tat  (Almanach  of  1790),  and  he  had  just 
been  appointed  a  judge  at  Varennes  at  the  time  of  the  King's  arrest.  He 
was  afterwards  a  judge  at  Montm^dy,  then  at  Vaucouleurs,  and  finally  at 
Saint-Mihiel,  where  he  remained  from  1795  to  1800.  In  1807  he  was  a 
notary  at  Varennes,  where  he  died,  June  29,  1824. — (Private  information.) 

Marie  Henriette  Lasalle,  the  wife  of  Destez,  bom  in  1763,  whose  letters 
we  shall  frequently  quote,  was  the  daughter  of  Henry  Lasalle,  Super- 
intendent of  the  Queen's  Fuel,  one  of  the  194  officials  in  the  Seven  Offices 
that  were  included  in  the  department  of  the  Chief  Steward,  These  seven 
offices  comprised  the  departments  of  the  Goblet,  of  the  Table,  of  the 
Bread-basket,  of  the  Wine-cellar,  of  the  Kitchen,  of  the  Fmitery,  and  of 

87 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

embraced  him,  as  well  as  Destez,  several  times,  he  next 
embraced  Pultier,  Coquillard,  Cochou,  MauchaufFe,  and  all 
the  members  of  the  council  of  the  commune,  and  all  the 
municipal  officers  who  were  present.  At  every  fresh  salute 
he  was  much  affected :  all  who  took  part  in  the  scene  were 
moved  to  tears ;  while  the  Queen,  though  more  distant  in 
manner  and  less  familiar,  was  "in  a  state  of  extreme 
agitation.'**'^  The  King  became  confiding  at  once,  and 
explained  calmly  "  that  he  had  left  Paris  because  his  family 
was  daily  in  danger  of  perishing  there;  that  he  had  had 
enough  of  living  in  the  midst  of  daggers  and  bayonets,  and 
that  he  had  come  to  take  refuge  among  his  faithful 
subjects.""^  Everyone  was  speaking  at  once:  in  a  moment 
the  King  was  surrounded  by  friends,  and  it  was  agreed  by 
common  consent  that  he  was  to  resume  his  interrupted 
journey  to  Montmedy  at  dawn,  escorted  by  fifty  hussars  and 
fifty  national  guards. 

The  room  in  which  this  scene  was  enacted  was  at  the  back 
of  the  house,  and  was  connected  with  another,  slightly 
larger,  which  faced  the  street,  and  contained  the  head  of 
a  narrow  staircase  leading  from  the  ground-floor.  The  shop, 
the  kitchen,  the  staircase,  and  the  large  room  on  the  first 
floor  were  all  thronged  with  an  inquisitive  crowd  who  had 
contrived  to  slip  into  the  house,  and  kept  up  a  constant 
sound  of  trampling,  shouting,  shuffling,  and  pushing,  in 
their  efforts  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  prisoners,  whom  they 
could  see  through  the  open  door,  where  two  peasants  stood 
on  guard  armed  with  pitchforks.^  The  Dauphin  and  his 
sister  lay  upon  a  bed  asleep,  with  their  hands  clenched. 
Near  them  was  seated  Madame  de  Tourzel,  dozing  with  her 
forehead  on  her  hand ;  Madame  Neuville  and  Madame 
Brunier,   who  had  at  last  left   the  Bras  d^Or^  were  sitting 

the  Coal-hole  (wood-cellar,  coal-cellar,  care  of  fires,  &c.).  It  would  be 
very  interesting  to  know  why  Destez,  having  married  the  daughter  of 
one  of  the  Queen's  officials,  was  supposed  to  have  a  reason  for  hating 
the  Court. 

1  Second  Official  Report  of  the  Municipality  of  Varennes.     First  draft. 

2  Second  Official  Report  of  the  Municipality  of  Varennes.     Final  draft. 

3  Choiseul's  Narrative.  One  of  them  was  called  Jean  Louis  Druard,  and 
was  a  hammerer  at  the  iron- works. 

Archives  of  the  Record  Office  of  the  Tribunal  of  Saint-Mihiel. 

88 


THE  NIGHT   OF  THE   TWENTY-FIRST 

beside  her.  At  the  back  of  the  room  sat  the  three  body- 
guards ;  while  the  King,  walking  to  and  fro  quite  placidly, 
gave  pleasant  answers  to  such  as  had  succeeded  in  pushing 
into  the  room.  The  Queen  was  very  nervous,  Madame 
Elizabeth  patient  and  resigned.  Near  them  stood  a  table  on 
which  bread,  wine,  and  some  glasses  had  been  placed. 
Madame  Sauce  had  appealed  to  the  good-nature  of  her 
neighbour,  Madame  Bellet,  who  was  helping  her  in  this 
great  domestic  upheaval,  and  did  not  leave  the  house  that 
night. 

Choiseul  and  Goguelat  had  come  up  to  pay  their  respects 
to  the  King,  and  to  ask  for  his  commands.  Damas,  too,  had 
arrived  with  only  six  of  his  dragoons,  and  he  also  had 
reported  himself  to  his  Majesty.  The  three  suggested  that 
they  should,  with  a  charge  of  cavalry,  scatter  the  crowd  that 
obstructed  the  street,  thus  clearing  a  peissage  for  the  royal 
family ;  but  the  King  thought  the  scheme  unnecessary. 
Why  employ  force.?  The  municipality  had  promised  "to 
supply  him  with  the  means  of  reaching  Montmedy  "  on  the 
one  condition  that  he  should  defer  his  departure  until  the 
dawn;  and  moreover,  the  news  must  by  that  time  have 
reached  Bouille  at  Stenay,  nine  leagues  from  Varennes,  and 
he  would  soon  appear  with  the  main  body  of  troops :  it  was 
better  to  be  patient  for  a  while.  The  King  apparently  lost  none 
of  his  placidity,  while  the  Queen  regaled  Choiseul,  Goguelat, 
and  Damas  in  her  charming  way  with  all  the  details  of  her 
escape  from  the  Tuileries.^  As  for  them,  they  made  the 
most  of  the  opportunity,  like  true  courtiers,  to  "  push  their 
interests  "*"*  and  pay  their  court. 

The  crowd  without  was  swelling  continually.  Those  who 
occupied  the  best  places,  facing  Sauce's  house,  remained 
there  obstinately,  among  the  horses  of  the  hussars.  In  the 
faint  light  of  the  dawning  day  it  was  possible  to  distinguish 
three  of  Damas"*  dragoons  guarding  the  shop  door — Sergeants 
Saint-Charles  and  Lapotherie,  and  the  adjutant  Foucq — 
with  their  olive-green  coats  and  pink  facings,  their  white 
knee-breeches    and     huge     boots.^      Every    window,    every 

1  Damas'  Narrative.     "  She  charmed  away  our  impatience  to  a  certain 
degree  by  her  interesting  story."  ^  Regulations  of  1786. 

89 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 


skylight,  every  roof,  was  crowded  with  faces,  and  from  the 
two  ends  of  the  street  an  endless  stream  came  rushing  to 
join  the  throng — men  in  blouses,  women  in  Lorraine  caps, 
national  guards  armed  with  scythes,  stakes,  or  venerable 
muskets — all  awakened  by  the  tocsin  as  it  echoed  from 
village   to  village,  and  irresistibly  attracted  by  the  magic 

words,  "The  King,  the 
Queen,  and  the  little 
Dauphin  are  at  Varennes." 
In  this  multitude,  so 
closely  packed  that  its 
excitement  spread  like 
fever,  the  strangest  rum- 
ours were  originated ;  the 
smallest  incident  was  ob- 
served, exaggerated,  dis- 
torted. It  was  said  that 
Lieutenant  Rohrig  had 
disappeared,  and  that  his 
men  could  not  get  into 
the  convent  of  the  Cor- 
deliers because  it  was 
blockaded  by  the  National 
Guard.  At  half  past 
three  in  the  morning 
Mangin  appeared  from 
the  grocery  shop,  a  man  well  known  throughout  the  dis- 
trict, for  he  combined  at  Varennes  the  functions  of  an 
attorney  with  the  practice  of  surgery.  The  news  spread 
quickly  that  he  was  starting  for  Paris  to  obtain  instructions 
from  the  National  Assembly,  and  he  passed  through  the 
crowd  amid  shouts  of  applause,  grasping  the  many  hands 
that  were  held  out  to  him,  and  waving  his  hat.  A  short 
time  afterwards  it  became  known  that  Bouille  was  arriving 
with  his  troops :  someone  ^  in  Romagne  had  seen  him 
hurrying  by  at  the  head  of  the  Royal  Germans.  "  Bouille 
is   coming !    Bouille   is  at    the   gates   of  Varennes.      He   is 

1  Barthe  of  the  Constabulary.     He  had  escaped  from  the  Uhlans  by 
running  into  the  woods.     Ofl&cial  Report  of  Varennes. 

90 


sauce's  house. 


THE   NIGHT   OF   THE   TWENTY-FIRST 

coming  to  run  off  with  the  King,  to  massacre  the  patriots  and 
bum  the  town.""  A  veritable  uproar  followed.  "  To  arms  ! 
Open  all  the  gates  ! "'''  In  obedience  to  this  the  gates  were 
opened  wide,  to  allow  the  crowd  to  fly  as  soon  as  the  Royal 
Germans  appeared.^  And  where  were  the  hussars  ?  They 
were  nearly  asleep  on  their  weary  horses:  fatigue  and  the 
movements  of  the  pushing  mob  had  gradually  broken  their 
ranks,  but  here  and  there  their  shakos  of  dusty  black  felt, 
their  blue  pelisses,  and  their  sheepskin  schabracques  could  be 
seen,  dominating  the  crowd.  They  were  asked,  "Would 
they  charge  the  crowd  if  the  order  were  given  ?  *"  but  not 
one  of  them  understood  the  question,  till  someone  hurried  to 
fetch  a  woman  who  knew  German,  and  she,  having  been  led 
to  the  spot,  was  told  what  to  say.  The  soldiers,  when  she 
spoke  to  them,  were  overjoyed,  and  they  were  soon  on  good 
terms  with  the  bystanders.^  Wine  was  brought,  and  they  all 
drank  and  laughed  together.  At  that  moment  Goguelat 
came  out  of  Sauce''s  house,  and  mounting  his  horse  gave  the 
order,  "  Fours  right !  *"  The  hussars,  however,  did  not  move. 
A  few  of  them  cried  as  best  they  could,  "  Vive  la  Nation!'^ 
to  which  the  applauding  crowd  responded  "  Vive  Lauzun  !  ^ 
Goguelat  grew  pale  and  made  his  horse  rear ;  then  all  was 
tumult.  Roland,  the  major  of  the  National  Guard,  seized  the 
bridle,  and  Goguelat  drew  his  sword,  crying,  "I  am  going 
through !  I  swear  by  my  head  that  I  shall  take  the  King, 
ril  have  you  all  massacred  and  your  town  sacked  ! "  He 
raised  his  sword,  threatening  Roland,  but  the  latter  shot  him 
point-blank  with  his  pistol.  A  great  cry  arose  from  the 
crowd  as  the  officer  fell  from  his  horse  and  was  quickly  borne 
out  of  the  throng,  though,  as  the  ball  only  touched  his 
shoulder,  the  wound  was  but  a  slight  one.  Roland  was 
overcome  with  distress,  and  apologised  almost  tearfully  as  he 
carried  the  victim  to  the  Bras  cTOr  and  dressed  the  wound 
himself.  Goguelat  soon  reappeared,  and  was  in  his  turn 
cheered  by  the  reassured  mob,  though  the  hussars  were  still 
immovable,  and  continued  to  drink  and  to  cry  "  Vive  la 
Natifm  ! "    As  the  sun  climbed  higher  in  the  sky  the  people 

1  Narratives  of  Choiseul  and  Damas.     Official  Report  of  Varennes. 
3  Ancelon,  Fuite  de  Louis  X  VI. 

91 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

grew  excited  by  their  success  ;  they  became  conscious  of  their 
power ;  they  felt  themselves  irresistibly  strong.  They 
chattered  gaily  and  chaffed  each  other  and  sang ;  and  then 
suddenly  there  fell  a  great  silence.  ...  A  window  on  the 
first  story  of  Sauce''s  house  was  opened,  and  the  King 
appeared,  standing,  with  his  grey  coat,  his  bottle-green 
overcoat,  his  short  peruke.  He  looked  out,  bowing  and 
waving  his  hand.  A  mighty  shout  arose,  "  Vive  le  Roi ! 
Vive  la  Nation ! '"'  but  also  "  Vive  Lauzun !  Vive  les  hussards !  "*'' 
It  was  five  o''clock  in  the  morning. 

Later  on  M.  de  Signemont,  who  had  been  an  officer  in  the 
army  and  wore  the  cross  of  St.  Louis,  was  observed  walking 
about.  He  lived  at  Neuvilly,  whence  he  had  hastened  at 
daybreak  to  Varennes,  and  in  two  hours  he  had  made  the 
place  capable  of  standing  a  siege,  with  barricades  at  all  the 
approaches  to  the  town,  and  pickets  and  guards.  All 
the  national  guards  who  had  come  from  the  surrounding 
villages  he  ranged  in  a  double  line  from  Sauce's  house  to 
the  road  to  Paris,  making  the  line  longer  and  longer 
as  the  peasants  continued  to  arrive  from  the  neighbouring 
districts.  There  were  more  than  ten  thousand  of  them,  it 
was  said. 

Sauce  came  and  went  between  his  own  house  and  the  town 
hall.  He  was  seen  walking  about  gravely,  his  face  drawn 
and  pale,^  his  eyes  staring  and  almost  wild. 

One  of  Damas**  soldiers  who  had  dealings  with  him  on 
this  morning  of  the  22nd  was  struck  by  his  dejection :  he 
"appeared  to  be  in  a  trance." ^ 

And  indeed  this  incredibly  dramatic  scene  had  distracted 
all  Varennes.  By  six  o'^clock  in  the  morning  it  was  almost 
impossible  to  move  about  the  town,  so  quickly  did  the  crowd 
increase.  The  King's  circle  was  confident,  or  pretended  to  be, 
that  the  journey  to  Montmedy  would  be  resumed  ;  but  the 
municipal  authorities  were  firmly  resolved  not  to  take  the 
responsibility  of  allowing  the  King  to  go,  but  to  await  orders 
from  Paris ;  and  in  both  these  camps  there  was  much 
agitation  but  no  action.  At  the  gates  of  the  town,  on  the 
Chepy  side,  a  small  body  of  hussars,  the  advance-guard  of 
1  Choiseul's  Narrative.  ^  Remy's  Narrative. 

92 


OOGUELAT. 


THE  NIGHT  >^fgWE-^WENTY-FlRST 


Bouille's  army,  was  waiting  among  the  vineyards  doing 
nothing ;  mingled  with  the  crowd  in  the  streets,  the  hussars 
and  a  few  dragoons  brought  by  Damas  were  staggering 
drunkenly;  the  houses  were  overflowing,  and  everywhere 
there  was  feasting,  while  the  housewives  baked  bread  and 
cooked  pies;  in  the  gardens  the  cherry-trees  were  robbed; 
men  were  walking  about  in  boots  made  of  hay  or  straw ;  at 
the  cross-roads  the  carts  were  tied  up  without  their  horses, 
shafts  in  air;  in  the  courtyards  the  post-horses  and  the 
chargers  of  the  soldjers  lay  side  by  side  on  improvised  litters ; 
and  from  this  seething  mass  of  living  beings  there  rose  an 
atmosphere  of  excitement  that  almost  amounted  to  real 
enthusiasm.  It  was  known  that  Bouille  and  his  Germans 
were  hastening  to  the  town,  and  these  French  peasants,  who 
had  never  handled  a  musket,  had  decided  to  fight;  their 
hearts  were  beating  as  one,  and  they  had  but  one  thought 
among  them — to  keep  their  King,  who  was  being  reft  from 
them.  Every  man  who  pfissed  by  Sauce's  house  thought  it 
suitable  to  show  his  love  for  the  royal  family  by  shouting 
"  To  Paris  !  " 

No  one  wished  or  dared  to  act  decidedly,  and  from  the 
confusion  of  those  anxious,  irresolute  hours  one  or  two 
incidents  stand  out  conspicuously.  At  about  four  o'clock  in 
the  morning  Florentin,  the  captain  of  the  guard  of  Very, 
entered  Sauce's  house  with  a  paper  in  his  hand  :  "  Here  is  a 
letter  addressed  to  the  King,"  he  said.  Sauce  read  the 
direction,  which  was  composed  of  these  words :  To  you  two, 
to  you  three.  "  Sire,"  said  the  grocer,  "  here  is  a  letter  ^or 
us  two,  for  us  three ;  do  you  recognise  this  form  of  address  ? "" 
"No,"  replied  the  King,  shrugging  his  shoulders.  In  the 
fear  that  this  missive  might  contain  "  something  dangerous," 
it  was  given  over  to  Radet,  the  officer  in  command  of  the 
local  artillery.^  Shortly  afterwards  this  same  Radet,  in  one 
of  his  constant  perambulations  between  the  street  and  the 
gi-ocer's  shop,  recognised  Choiseul,  whom  he  had  seen 
formerly  in  the  house  of  M.  de  Puysegur,  whose  secretary 
he  had  been;  and  he  was  immediately  surrounded  by  the 

*  Florentin's  Statement.  Archives  of  the  Record  OflBce  of  Saint-Mihiel. 
Radet's  trial. 

93 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

royal  family,  who  tried  to  conciliate  him.  Radet  accordingly 
attempted  to  cajole  the  guard  at  the  bridge,  declaring  that 
"  if  the  King  were  allowed  to  pass  it  would  be  greatly  to  the 
advantage  of  Varennes "'"' ;  ^  but  this  suggestion  was  greeted 
with  muttered  disapproval,  and  a  voice — that  of  Jean  Pierre 
Comtoir — cried,  "  He  comes  from  Paris ;  let  him  go  back 
there ! '"     It   was  Radet,   too,   who   resorted   to   a  ruse   in 


THE  LANE  OF  LA   V^RADE  BEHIND  SAUCE's  HOUSE  AT  VABSNNES. 


suggesting  to  the  people  of  Varennes  that  if  the  King  should 
insist  on  continuing  his  journey,  or  if  the  uhlans  were  to 
appear,  they  "  should  remove  him  from  the  house  by  the 
back  way  and  take  him  into  the  woods."  ^  Every  time  he 
entered  the  house  he  was  met  by  the  same  question  : 
"  Capitaine,  are  they  not  harnessing  the  horses  ? ""  ^  while  in 
the  street  there  was  always  the  same  refrain :  "  To  Paris  ! 

-^  Statements  of  Pierre  Verrye  of  Montblainville,  of  Jean  RoUand, 
a  merchant  of  Montblainville,  and  of  J.  B.  Prieur,  manager  of  the  iron- 
works at  Montblainville.     Archives  of  the  Record  OflBce  of  Saint-Mihiel. 

2  Statement  of  Jean  Martin  Raillet,  cooper.  Archives  of  the  Record 
Office  of  Saint-Mihiel. 

^  Statement  of  Jean  Martin  Raillet.    Archives  of  Saint-Mihiel. 

94 


THE  NIGHT  OF  THE  TWENTY-FIRST 

Harness  the  horses  to  take  them  to  Paris  ! ""  The  general 
indecision  produced  discussions  which  soon  became  quarrels. 
Jean  Francois  Roland,  major  in  the  Varennes  guard,  and 
Louis  Fouger,  his  lieutenant,  criticised  the  position  of  the 
artillerymen,  whom  Radet  persisted  in  leaving  in  touch  with 
the  hussars.^  Radet  it  seems,  was  won  over  to  the  King,  but 
he  had  no  intention  of  appearing  to  "  make  compacts  "  with 
him.  At  five  ©""clock  nothing  was  decided.  Louis  XVI 
came  from  the  back  room  to  the  room  in  front,  put  his  head 
out  of  the  window,  and  called  to  Radet,  "  Tell  them  to  get 
my  carriage  ready.""  Radet  did  not  answer.  "  Pay  atten- 
tion,"" said  Damas,  leaning  out  of  the  window ;  "  it  is  the 
King  who  is  speaking  to  you.""  "  I  cannot  recognise  him,"*"* 
said  Radet ;  "  I  have  the  orders  of  the  municipality.""  He 
went  into  the  shop,  however,  and  when  after  a  few  moments 
he  reappeared  in  the  street  the  people  jostled  each  other  in 
their  desire  for  infonnation.  "  He  still  insists  on  going  to 
Montmedy,""  ^  he  declared.  "  No,  no,  to  Paris.  To  Paris, 
or  we  mill  shoot  him  in  his  carriage  /  ^  *  Radet  once  more 
entered  the  shop,  and  on  coming  out  again  in  a  quarter  of 
an  hour  with  "  an  air  of  satisfaction ""  he  quieted  the  dis- 
turbance with  a  word.  "All  is  well — he  will  return  to 
Paris ! " 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  no  fixed  decision  had  been 
arrived  at.  The  prisoners  in  Sauce"'s  shop  felt  their  chances 
of  safety  were  growing  fainter,  but  they  were  not  yet 
resigned.  In  that  narrow  room,  with  its  low  ceiling  and  its 
straw-bottomed  chairs,  the  monarchy  for  which  the  most 
sumptuous  palaces  on  earth  had  been  erected  was  in  its 
death  agony.  And,  to  make  the  drama  more  complete,  it 
happened  that  morning  that  a  woman,  eighty  years  of  age 
and  more,  broke  through  the  ranks  of  the  spectators  and 
made  her  way  into  the  room.  This  was  the  grandmother  of 
the  grocer.  Sauce.  The  news  had  reached  her  during  the 
night,  in  the  village  near  Varennes  where  she  lived,  that  the 
King  was  in  her  grandson"'s  house,  and  seizing  her  stick,  she 

*  Statement  of  Louis  Fouger.     Record  OflBce  of  Saint-Mihiel. 

2  Statement  of  Noel  Meunier,  locksmith  at  Varennes.     Archives  of  the 
Record  Office  of  Saint-Mihiel. 

*  Statement  of  Noel  Meunier. 

95 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

dragged  herself  to  the  town.  The  poor  old  dame,  born  in 
the  era  of  the  Grand  Roi,  had  venerated  royalty  all  her 
days,  and  still  clung  to  the  theories  of  the  past.  Having 
greeted  the  King  and  Queen  with  a  countrywoman's 
awkward  curtsey,  she  drew  near  to  the  bed  on  which  the 
children  were  asleep — the  children  of  France.  She  meant  to 
give  them  her  blessing,  but,  bursting  into  sobs,  she  fell  on  her 
knees  beside  the  bed,  and  hiding  her  wrinkled  face  in  the 
coverlet,  she  wept  long  and  bitterly. 

Such  was  the  farewell  of  old  France  to  the  noble  race 
of  her  kings,  represented  by  this  poor  child  who  was  fated 
never  to  reign. 


96 


CHAPTER   IV 


PARIS    ON   THE    SAME    DAY 


On  the  21st  June,  1791,  the  most  bewildered  man  in  France, 
we  may  be  sure,  was  the  Sieur  Lemoine,  valet-de-chambre  to 
Louis  XVI.  On  the  previous  night,  at  the  Tuileries,  he  had 
helped  the  King  into  his  bed,  and  had  carefully  drawn  the 
curtains ;  then,  since  it  was  part  of  his  duty  to  sleep  in  the 
King*'s  room,  where  he  lay  on  a  bed  of  sacking  behind  a  screen, 
he  had  closed  the  shutters,  fastened  the  inner  bolts  of  the 
doors,^  and  lighted  the  night-lamp.  Having  undressed  noise- 
lessly, he  attached  within  reach  of  the  King,  as  he  did  every 
evening,  one  end  of  a  cord  of  which  the  other  end  was 
twisted  round  his  own  arm,  and  at  about  half-past  twelve 
he  went  to  sleep. 

At  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning  he  unfastened  the  shutters, 
and  tip-toed  across  the  room  to  open  the  door  to  Hubert  and 
IVJarquant,^  pages-of-the-bedchamber ;  and  as  soon  as  these 
two  had  cautiously  folded  the  screen,  and  put  away  Lemoine's 
bed  in  its  proper  receptacle,  the  valet  approached  the  royal 
alcove,  and  bowing  respectfully,  said  in  the  usual  formula, 
"  Sire,  it  is  seven  o"'clock.'' 

Then  he  drew  the  curtains  and  found  that  the  bed  was 
empty. 

Greatly  surprised   by  this   unprecedented   failure   in   the 

1  "Lemoine  had  drawn  the  inside  bolts  as  usual." — Statement  of  E.  A. 
Marquant,  National  Archives,  D.  XXIXb,  36. 

2  Pierre  Hubert,  page-of- the -palace,  fifty-two  years  old,  spent  the  night 
in  the  billiard-room.  Louis  Antoine  Marquant,  forty-six  years  old, 
secretary  and  page  of  the  King's  bedchamber,  slept  in  the  Council  Room, 
"which  adjoined  the  King's  room,  but  was  separated  from  it  by  a  double 
door."— National  Archives,  D.  XXIXb,  36. 

97  H 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

etiquette  of  the  King's  bedchamber,  he  sent  Hubert  to 
inquire  in  the  Queen's  apartments  if  the  King  were  there, 
contrary  to  his  usual  habits.  Hubert  returned  in  a  state  of 
much  uneasiness.  "The  Queen's  rooms  were  still  dark."  But 
he  had  learnt  from  Lenoble,  a  page-of-the-toilet,  "  that  M.  le 
Dauphin's  room  was  empty."  ^  Lemoine  was  aghast,  and 
still  thinking  it  impossible  that  his  master,  whom  he  had  not 
left  all  night,  should  have  disappeared,  he  explored  all  the 
King's  private  rooms.  The  royal  bed  stood  between  two 
doors,  of  which  one  led  into  a  tiny  dressing-room  and  thence 
to  the  Dauphin's  room,  while  the  other  opened  upon  a  narrow 
staircase  leading  to  the  ground-floor,^  where  the  King  had 
arranged  an  oratory,  a  little  room  to  which  he  might  retire 
for  rest,  and  a  small  blacksmith's  shop.^  All  these  rooms 
were  empty. 

Lemoine  returned  in  great  distress. 

As  the  half-hour  had  just  struck,  he  decided  to  open  the 
door  into  the  Council  Room,  where  the  attendants  who  filled 
the  minor  offices  of  the  bedchamber  were  waiting,  greatly 
surprised  by  the  unwonted  delay.  Among  them  were  Gentil, 
valet-of-the-wardrobe,  and  Beauge,  the  first  page,*  whom 
Lemoine  informed  of  the  King's  absence.  The  two  high 
windows  of  the  Council  Room  were  wide  open  above  the 
Carrousel ;  in  the  Galerie  de  Diane  the  polished  floors  were 
being  rubbed  with  wax;  the  house-porters  were  folding  up 
their  beds ;  the  valets,  draped  in  wrappers,  were  powdering 
their  hair.     The  scene  was  like  a  camp  at  the  hour  of  the 

1  "The  Sieur  Lemoine  .  .  .  observed  to  the  said  valet  that  he  must 
inquire  at  the  Queen's  apartments  whether  the  King  were  there,  and  the 
vcUet-de-chamhre  (of  the  Queen)  answered  that  all  was  still  dark. — State- 
ment of  Pierre  Hubert. 

^  "There  is  a  way  of  communicating  between  the  King's  bedroom  and 
the  Dauphin's  apartments,  and  another  door  opening  on  a  little  private 
staircase  that  leads  down  to  his  study,  etc.,  on  the  ground-floor,  on  the 
same  story  as  the  Queen's  rooms,  with  which  it  communicates." — 
Marquant's  Statement.     National  Archives,  D.  XXIXb,  36. 

8  Le  GMteau  des  Tuileries,  by  P.  J.  A.  R.  D.  E.  (Roussel  d'Epinal), 
1802. 

^  Antoine  Philippe  Gentil,  valet  of  the  King's  wardrobe,  thirty-nine 
years  old.  Louis  Joachim  Filleul  Beaug^,  page-of-the-bedchamber, 
seventeen  years  old.  "  He  entered  the  King's  rooms  at  seven  o'clock ; 
M.  Lemoine,  coming  out  of  the  bedroom,  announced  that  the  King  was  not 
there." 

d8 


PARIS   ON   THE    SAME   DAY 

reveille.  As  the  news  spread  the  whole  household  assembled 
hastily,  stockings  hanging,  brushes  in  hand,  clubs  untied.  A 
water-carrier,^  whose  office  was  to  supply  the  Dauphine''s 
bath,  carried  his  buckets  round  the  salons  in  a  state  of  great 
emotion,  while  frightened  scullions  hurried  from  the  kitchen. 
Among  the  general  lamentations  were  heard  expressions  of 
incredulity.  "  You  think  I  am  joking  !  FU  lay  odds  that 
they  are  gone.""  Thus  spoke  Poin^ot,  the  King's  turnspit, 
who,  having  gone  into  the  kitchens,  had  just  heard  of  the  affair 
from  Brisebarre,  "an  officer  in  the  pastry  department." 
"  There  is  no  peace ! ""  sighed  Constant  the  lamp-lighter,  with 
his  box  of  oil  under  his  arm.*  Then  the  perplexed  attend- 
ants from  the  lower  story  began  to  come  upstairs,  crying  that 
the  Queen's  doors  were  still  closed.  Mademoiselle  Streel,  a 
woman-of-the-wardrobe,  who  every  morning  was  the  first  to 
enter  the  bedchamber,  had  not  been  able  to  fulfil  her  office. 
Fouquet,  one  of  Madame  Royale's  pages-of-the-bedchamber, 
had  been  admitted  at  the  usual  hour  to  the  young  princess's 
room,  but  "  did  not  see  her  lying  in  bed,  as  he  usually  did.*" 
He  ran  to  look  for  Madame  Schliek,  one  of  Madame's  nurses, 
and  learnt  from  her  servant  "  that  Madame  Schliek  had  gone 
off,  baggage  and  all ;  that  everyone  had  gone,  not  a  soul  was 
left."  *  And  indeed,  the  rooms  of  Madame  Gougenot,  woman- 
of-the-bedchamber  to  the  Queen,  were  empty,  and  their  state 
of  disorder  gave  evidence  of  a  hasty  flitting.*  The  rooms  of 
Madame  Brunier,  Madame  Neuville,  and  Madame  de  Tourzel 
were  all  deserted.  In  less  than  a  quarter  of  an  hour  the  facts 
were  known  in  every  comer  of  the  palace,  from  the  bake- 
houses in  the  vaults  of  the  Galerie  du  Quai  to  the  topmost 
attic  of  the  fourteen  stories  in  the  Pavilion  de  Marsan  ;  known 
also  in  the  stables,  in  the  Rue  du  Dauphin,  in  the  Rue  du 
Chantre,  in  the  houses  of  the  old  Louvre,  and  in  the  hovels  of 

1  Nicolas  Vauriant,  called  Bourguignon,  fifty  years  old,  water-carrier, 
Rue  de  Rohan. 

^  Statements  of  Nicolas  Poin^ot,  turnspit  for  the  King's  table,  and  of 
Pierre  Gervais  Constant,  lamp-lighter. — Documents  cUpos^s  au  Qreffe  de  la 
C<mr  dPOrUans.     Bimbenet,  2nd  edition.     Pieces  Justificativea,  15-26. 

3  Statements  of  Elizabeth  Streel,  twenty-one  years  of  age,  attached  to 
the  Queen's  wardrobe,  and  of  T.  B.  Fouquet,  fifty-eight  years  old, 
page-of-the-bedchamber  to  Madame,  the  King's  daughter. — Bimbenet. 
Documents  preserved  in  the  Record  Office  of  the  Court  of  Orleans. 

*  National  Archives,  D.  XXIXb,  36. 

99  H  2 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

the  Carrousel — ^the  crowded  quarters  of  a  multitude  of  ser- 
vants and  functionaries  who  came  every  morning  to  take  up 
their  posts  in  the  Tuileries.  Everything  came  to  a  standstill 
instantaneously,  exactly  as — did  one  unhook  the  weights — one 
of  those  colossal  and  useless  clocks  of  complicated  mechanism, 
which  tell  the  days  of  the  week  and  month,  the  phases  of  the 
moon  and  times  of  the  tide,  strike  at  the  hours,  imitate  the 
cuckoo  at  the  quarters,  chime  at  the  half-hours,  and  show  a 
string  of  people  opening  doors,  turning  wheels,  coming  in, 
bowing,  and  retiring  with  miraculous  regularity,  would  sud- 
denly be  paralysed  in  every  wheel. 

And  this  general  stupefaction  was  not  without  an  element  of 
panic,  of  terror  as  to  what  would  be  said  by  that  formidable 
city  of  Paris  that  was  awakening  under  the  clouded  sky  of  a 
sullen  and  stormy  spring  day.^ 

Through  the  windows  of  the  gallery  groups  of  the  National 
Guard  could  be  seen  coming  and  going  in  the  Cour  des  Princes 
from  one  flight  of  steps  to  another,  disputing,  shouting,  ges- 
ticulating. Presently  there  appeared  the  Captain  of  the 
Hundred  Swiss  Guards,  M.  de  Brissac,  apparently  indiff*erent 
and  slightly  ironical.  Marquant  and  Gentil  had  hastened  to 
M.  de  Liancourt,  Grand  Master  of  the  Wardrobe,  whom  they 
found  engaged  at  his  toilet  and  very  incredulous,  seeing  that 
he  had  assisted  at  the  coiicher  on  the  previous  evening,  and 
had  only  left  the  King''s  room  at  the  moment  when  his 
Majesty  was  getting  into  bed.^  For  that  the  royal  family 
could  have  escaped  after  the  coucher  was  over,  from  that  well 
guarded  prison-house,  where  every  door  within  had  its  sentinel 
and  every  exit  its  permanent  guard,  was  an  idea  that  occurred 
to  no  one;  and  so  the  whole  distracted  household — ushers, 
valets,  pages,  porters,  scrubbers,  water-carriers,  scullions, 
ladies'-maids — waited  there,  staring  vacantly  at  the  wayfarers 
in  the  Carrousel,  who  were  standing  as  though  petrified,  with 
their  eyes  fixed  upon  the  facade  of  the  palace. 

For  the  news  had  spread  in  the  town  with  amazing  rapidity.    ] 
It  is  recorded  by  a  Parisian   that  at  eight  o''clock  on  that 
day  he  was  barely  awake  and  was  still  in  bed,   lulled  by  the    ' 

*  Bulletin  de  VObservatoire  de  Paris,  21st  June,  1791. 
2  National  Archives,  D.  XXIXb,  36. 

100 


PARIS    ON  THE   SAME   DAY 

familiar  morning  sounds,  the  cries  of  hawkers  and  the  rumbling 
of  market-carts,  "  when  a  murmur  arose  like  the  roaring  of 
the  sea  buffeted  by  the  wind,  '*''  ^  and  as  it  came  near  grew  ever 
louder  and  more  widespread,  while  the  drums  beat  to  quarters. 
Soon,  amid  the  confusion  of  sound,  it  became  possible  to 
distinguish  words.  Every  window  was  opened ;  heads  were 
thrust  out,  and  from  the  street  a  cry  arose,  "  The  King  has 
gone !  The  King  hais  gone  !  ^  The  news  penetrated  every- 
where at  the  same  moment,  like  the  sound  of  an  explosion. 
In  the  main  streets,  which  were  crowded  in  an  instant, 
"  throughout  the  roaring  suburbs,  at  the  threshold  of  every 
shop  and  at  the  door  of  every  house,"  the  people  cried  to  one 
another,  "  He  is  gone! '"'  And  spontaneously,  impelled  by 
their  overpowering  anxiety,  they  all  rushed  to  the  Tuileries. 

The  Carrousel  quickly  filled.  A  crowd  had  gathered  on 
the  Pont  Royal,  to  the  great  perplexity  of  Philippe  Dubois, 
Captain  of  the  Guard,  who  was  placidly  watching  these  ex- 
tremely animated  people  from  one  of  the  windows  of  the 
Pavilion  de  Flore.  Philippe  Dubois  was  entrusted  with  the 
safe  keeping  of  Madame  Elizabeth  :  he  had  conscientiously 
seen  that  one  of  his  men  was  sleeping  on  a  mattress  across 
the  only  door  of  the  princess*'s  apartments,  and  as  these  were 
isolated  from  the  rest  of  the  palace  and  had  windows  only  on 
the  side  overlooking  the  garden  and  the  river,  the  upheaval 
of  the  household  had  not  yet  spread  to  them.  Captain 
Dubois,  growing  suddenly  suspicious,  deliberately  opened  the 
door  of  Madame  Elizabeth's  bedroom.  It  was  empty  ;  but  a 
hanging  of  tapestry  had  been  lifted,  disclosing  behind  it  a 
cupboai-d  with  a  movable  back,  which  opened  on  the  still 
unfurnished  gallery  that  was  destined  for  a  museum.  The 
princess,  with  the  help  of  a  key  that  was  found  upon  the 
floor,  had  set  this  machinery  working  and  had  thus  es- 
caped.* 

^  M^moirea  du  G4n^ral  Baron  Thidhaidt. 

^  Philippe  Dubois,  fifty  years  of  age,  captain  of  the  second  company  of 
the  Section  du  Roule,  Rue  de  Duras.  '*  On  the  20th  June,  at  half  past 
ten  in  the  evening,  or  about  that  time,  he  escorted  Madame  Elizabeth 
to  her  room.  .  .  .  One  of  the  pages-of-the-bedchamber  fastened  the 
door  on  the  inside  .  .  .  then  one  of  the  chasseurs  of  the  guard,  having 
placed  a  mattress  across  the  door  .  .  .  spent  the  entire  night  there.  .  .  . 
On  the  21st,  it  was  only  just  at  eight  o'clock  that  the  deponent,  going  to 

101 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

Greatly  crestfallen,  Dubois  left  his  post  and  repaired  to 
the  gallery.  He  found  it  looking  like  a  disturbed  ant-hill, 
so  great  was  the  universal  panic,  so  wild  the  stampede  before 
the  rising  wrath  of  Paris.  The  valets  were  throwing  off  their 
livery,  the  women  were  hastily  tying  up  parcels ;  all  were 
scrambling  to  reach  the  doors,  seeking  the  darkest  passages, 
or  slipping  away  to  the  still  unobstructed  exits  by  the  chapel 
and  the  Pavilion  de  Marsan. 

For  the  Cour  des  Princes  and  the  Cour  Royale  were  already 
invaded.  A  group  of  officers  of  the  National  Guard,  with 
Gouvion,  their  major-general,  who  was  in  charge  of  the  defences 
of  the  palace,  were  hustled  and  derided  and  abused  by  the 
crowd.  Amid  the  din,  Gouvion  recounted  how  on  the 
previous  evening  he  had  been  warned  by  a  woman  of  the 
projected  flight ;  how  he  had  instantly  informed  the 
commandant-general,  Lafayette ;  how  every  door  and  every 
gate  had  been  fastened ;  how  two  officers  in  command  of 
battalions,  one  captain,  an  adjutant,  and  a  subaltern  officer 
had  watched  all  night  in  the  court ;  how  he,  Gouvion,  had 
stayed  there  himself  for  several   hours   and   had   not   seen 

the  windows  overlooking  the  Pont  Royal,  perceived  a  crowd  of  people 
coming  straight  towards  the  palace,  shouting.  .  .  .  The  deponent,  taking 
his  sword  in  his  hand,  went  to  find  the  page-of-the-bedchamber  and  ordered 
him  to  take  him  to  Madame  Elizabeth's  room. 

"  It  was  in  this  room  that  the  deponent  observed  a  door  or  means  of  exit, 
which  opens,  he  believes,  on  the  landing  that  leads  to  the  great  gallery 
that  is  to  be  turned  into  a  museum." — Documents  preserved  in  the  Record 
Office  of  the  Court  of  Orleans.     Bimbenet.     Pieces  Justificatives. 

It  was  no  doubt  this  door  that  was  alluded  to  in  the  following  statement 
of  Etienne  Trompette,  joiner  to  the  King,  Rue  de  Bourbon. 

"About  two  or  three  months  ago  the  Sieur  Renard,  Inspector  of 
Buildings  to  the  King,  ordered  from  him  a  cupboard,  to  be  made  according 
to  the  measurements  and  models  furnished  by  the  said  Renard.  This 
cupboard  is,  to  begin  with,  formed  of  two  doors,  opening  in  front,  with 
one  vertical  partition  in  the  middle,  and  a  cross  partition  dividing  the 
cupboard  into  halves.  In  this  latter  partition  there  is  a  sliding  door 
running  on  an  iron  bar  overhead,  and  hung  on  wheels  to  make  it  move 
more  easily.  .  .  .  There  are  several  shelves  supported  on  movable 
brackets.  By  removing  the  shelves  it  is  possible,  after  having  opened  one 
of  the  two  doors  in  the  front  of  this  cupboard  and  the  sliding  door  in  the 
middle  as  well  as  the  one  at  the  back,  to  pass  through  the  cupboard  as  if 
it  were  a  door,  if  the  cupboard  be  placed  before  a  door  that  opens 
outwards.  The  deponent  said  he  had  had  the  said  cupboard  taken  to  the 
vestibule  of  the  old  hall  of  the  GornAdie  Fran^ise,  Cour  des  Suisses,  in  the 
Palace  of  the  Tuileries,  where  he  left  it." — Documents  preserved  in  the 
Record  Office  of  the  Court  of  Orl^ns.  Bimbenet.  Pieces  Justificatives ^ 
p.  50. 


PARIS   ON  THE   SAME   DAY 

anyone  leaving  the  palace.  And  the  poor  man,  overwhelmed 
by  his  responsibility,  swore  solemnly  that  the  royal  family 
could  not  have  fled,  except  by  the  help  of  sorcery  or  trickery. 
As  the  trickery  was  undeniable,  the  crowd  hooted  and  hissed 
and  showed  much  exasperation.  Then  suddenly  there  was 
revived  the  evergreen  tradition  of  an  underground  passage 
beneath  the  Tuileries,  extending  to  Vincennes  or  Marly,  and 
the  mob  eagerly  fed  their  growing  irritation  on  this  and 
other  insane  inventions,  which  had  only  to  be  suggested  to  be 
believed.  There  were  those  who  declared  that  Veto  was  there 
with  his  family,  run  to  earth  in  some  hole.  By  half  past 
eight  a  hundred  thousand  persons,  burning  with  curiosity, 
were  massed  before  the  walls  of  the  Tuileries.  The  tocsin 
was  ringing,  drums  were  beating,  the  shops  were  closed.^ 
Then  the  fever  reached  a  crisis,  and  in  a  moment  the  crowd 
streamed  into  the  palace  by  all  the  gates,  uttering  cries  of 
indignation  against  the  truants  and  of  vengeance  against 
Lafayette,  who  had  allowed  them  to  escape.^ 

Lafayette,  after  the  King's  coucher,  had  returned  to  his 
house  in  the  Rue  de  Bourbon  (now  de  Lille),  at  the  corner  of 
the  Rue  de  Courty.  He  was  still  asleep  when,  at  eight 
o'^clock  in  the  morning,  his  friend  d' Andre,  the  deputy  from 
Aix,  dashed  into  his  room  and  imparted  the  news.  The 
commandant-general  sprang  from  his  bed  and  dressed  him- 
self at  lightning  speed.  Every  door  in  the  house  was  already 
open,  while  one  officer  after  another  rushed  in  for  instructions, 
and  intrusive  visitors  came  in  to  see  how  the  general  was 
bearing  the  blow.  He  appeared  presently,  full  of  energy,  but 
without  any  sign  of  dismay,  and  in  an  instant  had  passed 
out  into  the  street — that  Rue  de  Bourbon  usually  so 
deserted,  almost  rural,  in  fact,  with  its  line  of  garden  walls 
and  lofty  doorways,  but  full  this  morning  of  feverish 
agitation,  and  shouts,  and  hustling  crowds.  The  sight  of 
Lafayette  created  an  uproar.  The  people  groaned,  and 
clenched  their  fists,  and  cried  "  Traitor ! "  He  went  on 
foot,  without  any  escort  but  his  young  artillery  officer  Romeuf ; 

1  Letter  from  Madame  Roland  to  Bancal,  Tuesday,  June  21,  1791. 
^  "  It  is  almost  impossible  that  Lafayette  should  not  have  connived."— 
Letter  from  Madame  Roland  of  the  same  date. 

103 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

and  as  he  walked  quickly  along,  his  face  pale  and  expression- 
less, his  plastron  tightly  fastened  across  his  chest,  his  big 
epaulets  hanging  low  in  the  American  fashion,  he  towered 
above  the  crowd  in  his  great  cockaded  two-cornered  hat, 
which  was  placed  crosswise  on  the  fair  hair  that  he  wore 
unpowdered,  with  puffs  frizzed  out  over  the  ears.  The  crowd 
followed  him  in  a  howling,  threatening  procession.  At  the 
comer  of  the  Rue  du  Bac,  while  the  shops  were  being  closed, 
another  stream  was  bearing  along  the  tall,  thin,  stooping 
figure  of  Bailly,  the  Mayor,  who,  wrapped  in  a  black  over- 
coat crossed  diagonally  by  a  tricoloured  ribbon,  was  looking 
very  gloomy.  He  was  on  his  way  to  the  general,  and  the 
two  men,  in  spite  of  the  uproar,  entered  into  conversation, 
Bailly  as  though  nearly  overcome  with  anxiety,  but  Lafayette 
with  the  bearing  of  a  soldier,  dignified  and  almost  gay. 
They  were  joined  by  Beauhamais,  the  President  of  the 
Assembly,  who  was  also  hurrying  to  find  the  commandant- 
general;  and  the  three,  hustled  by  the  crowd,  hastened 
across  the  Pont  Royal,  turned  to  the  right  by  the  quay,  and 
entered  the  Carrousel  by  the  Marigny  gateway.^ 

The  square  was  like  a  tempestuous  sea.  On  the  roofs  were 
bodies  of  guards ;  at  the  windows  of  the  hovels  in  the 
court  and  of  the  facade,  at  the  edges  of  the  gutters,  on  the 
chimneys,  on  the  vanes,  everywhere,  there  were  heads,  bare 
arms,  red  faces,  white  fichus,  overcoats,  waving  hats,  gay 
petticoats,  and  light  uniforms — a  teeming  chaos,  from  which 
there  arose  an  inarticulate  sound  which  changed  suddenly 
into  an  uproar  as  Lafayette  appeared  on  the  scene.  A  path 
opened  for  him,  and  the  general,  precise  and  unbending, 
passed  through  the  menacing,  insulting,  scoffing  crowd,  and 
was  quickly  surrounded  by  the  officers  who  had  remained  in 
the  Princes'  Court,  helplessly  waiting  for  orders.  At  the 
guard-house  poor  Gouvion  was  still  in  a  state  of  wild 
excitement,  still  swearing  that  he  had  not  left  his  post  and 
that  the  royal  family  had  not  passed  him.  Others  were 
overcome  by  the  invasion  of  the  palace.  "  What  was  to  be 
done.?  How  could  the  crowd  be  held  back.?  How  far 
would  their  anger  carry  them  ? ""  And  even  the  calmest 
^  Thierry,  in  the  article  J^curies  du  Rot,  I. 

104 


PARIS   ON  THE   SAME   DAY 

grew  alarmed  at  the  sight  of  this  effervescing,  intoxicated 
city  of  Paris,  crazy  at  finding  herself  for  the  first  time 
without  a  master.  There  was  no  method  of  summoning 
the  National  Assembly,  which  was  only  convoked  for  nine 
©""clock,  and  Beauhamais  became  uneasy.  What  would  the 
mob  do  until  then  ?  What  leader  would  they  elect  ?  Who 
would  get  the  mastery  over  them  and  trade  on  their  folly  ? 
The  mournful  Bailly  was  silent.  "  Do  you  think,""  inquired 
Lafayette,  "  that  the  arrest  of  the  King  and  his  family  is 
necessary  for  the  good  of  the  public  ? ""  "  Undoubtedly,  but 
by  what  right  can  he  be  arrested  ?  Where  is  the  authority  ? 
Who  will  give  the  order  ?  '"*  ^  "  Oh,  well,  I  will  take  the 
responsibility  upon  myself,"  said  the  general,  smiling;  and 
he  proceeded  to  dictate,  without  hesitation  or  revision,  to 
Romeuf,  who  wrote  on  a  sheet  of  paper  with  the  printed 
heading  Office  of  the  General  Staff  :  "  TJw  King 
having  been  removed  by  the  enemies  of  the  Revolution, 
tfie  bearer  is  instructed  to  impart  the  Jact  to  all  good  citizens, 
wfio  are  commanded  in  tJw  name  of'  their  endangered  country 
to  take  him  out  of  their  haiuls  and  to  bring  him  back  to  the 
keeping  of  the  National  Assembly.  The  latter  is  about  to 
assemble^  but  in  the  meantime  I  take  upon  myself  all  the 
responsibility  of  this  order.  Paris,  Jtuie  21,  1791.""  ^  Some 
voices  being  raised  in  dissatisfaction  because  the  Queen  and 
Dauphin  were  not  mentioned,  the  general  carelessly  scribbled, 
"  This  order  extends  to  all  tlw  royal  Jamily."^ 

This  audacious  and  light-hearted  assumption  of  the  reins 
of  government,  this  little  note  dictated  on  the  spur  of  the 
moment,  enjoining  upon  a  whole  nation  to  chase  their  King, 
this  coup  cr£tat  so  calmly  earned  out,  had  the  immediate 
effect  of  comforting  the  people  greatly,  so  much  did  they 
feel  the  need  of  being  led  and  of  having  some  one  to  obey. 

But  who  was  to  take  the  order  ?  Anyone  who  volunteered. 
Instantly  the  paper  passed  from  hand  to  hand,  while  five, 
ten,  twenty  copies  were  made,  given  to  the  general  to  sign, 
and  entrusted  to  the  improvised  couriers.     M.  Bayon,  com- 

^  M&moires  du  Marquis  de  Lafayette. 

^  Proc^-verfxil  de  ce  qui  a'est  paaai  d  Ghdlom.  Chalons-sur-Marne, 
L.  L.  Leroy,  1876. 

105 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

mandant  of  the  seventh  battalion,  would  hurry  off  by  the 
Valenciennes  road ;  another  officer,  M.  Bodan,  would  take 
the  road  to  Metz  ;  M.  Lolivrette  and  M.  Rollot  would  start 
for  Compiegne;  the  engineer  Rochet  for  Troyes;  Lieut. 
Dufay  for  Lille ;  M.  Lafontaine  would  go  to  Lyons ;  ^  while 
M.  de  Romeuf,  the  general's  aide-de-camp,  would  speed 
post-haste  along  the  Laon  and  Mons  road,  for  it  was  in  that 
direction,  it  was  universally  agreed,  that  the  King  would  aim 
at  the  frontier,  which  was  there  about  fifty  leagues  from 
Paris.  Many  others,  tempted  by  a  spirit  of  adventure, 
contemplated  the  idea  of  chasing  the  fugitives.  They  ran  to 
the  posting-house  in  the  Rue  Contrescarpe-Dauphine ;  they 
requisitioned  every  obtainable  horse ;  they  lost  much  time  in 
kissing,  in  farewells,  in  claspings  of  the  hand ;  and  they  lost 
more  in  attempting  to  leave  Paris,  for  at  the  first  alarm  the 
barriers  had  been  closed,  and  no  one  could  pass  without 
thoroughly  trustworthy  references.  For  the  last  hour  distrust 
had  been  the  order  of  the  day.  Of  all  those  who  started 
thus,  bubbling  over  with  enthusiasm,  very  few  went  farther 
than  the  suburbs.  They  were  seen  at  Senlis,^  at  fitampes, 
Beauvais,  Provins,  and  Maintenon.  The  greater  number  of 
them  did  not  even  go  so  far. 

At  the  Tuileries,  however,  the  wandering  crowd  were 
masters  of  the  situation ;  though  as  they  penetrated  further 
into  that  mysterious  palace  that  had  hitherto  been  closed  to 
them  they  gradually  quieted  down.  This  may  have  been 
due  either  to  the  intensity  of  their  curiosity  or  to  an  instinct 
of  veneration,  for  the  Parisians,  whatever  they  may  say,  are 
naturally  respectful,  and  in  their  innermost  hearts  there  still 
lurked  a  feeling  of  adoration  for  royalty  and  of  filial  love  for 
the  Bourbons.  They  had  known  each  other  for  so  long! 
And  the  glory  of  the  Bourbons  was  so  closely  allied  to  the 
history  of  the  people !     The  prevailing  sentiment  was  one  of 

*  ^  List  of  the  horses  furnished  by  order  of  the  Mayor  and  M.  Lafayette 
on  the  21st  July  {sic),  1791. — National  Archives,  M.  664. 

2  The  news  of  the  flight  was  brought  to  Senlis  at  about  half  past  twelve 
by  two  men  dressed  in  the  national  uniform,  riding  hired  horses,  and 
carrying  orders  "to  run  after  the  King."  At  Valenciennes  the  King's 
departure  was  known  of  at  four  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  22nd,  the 
news  being  brought  by  a  courier  from  the  Qvatre  Nations  section  of  the 
Paris  Commune. 

106 


PARIS   ON  THE   SAME  DAY 

sullen  vexation  with  this  King  of  theirs,  a  good  fellow  after 
all,  who,  it  was  true,  had  suffered  some  discomfort  at  their 
hands,  but  had  made  a  mistake,  too,  in  getting  angry  and 
deserting  his  people  for  so  slight  a  cause.  What  if  he  were 
not  coming  back !  They  were  filled  with  consternation  and 
despair  at  the  thought  that  they  were  deprived  of  him, 
perhaps  for  ever.  They  walked  through  the  salons  of  his 
palace,  then,  somewhat  pensively.  "Now  then,  Messieurs,*" 
they  said,  "let  us  be  content  with  looking  at  everything 
there  is  to  be  seen  here;  but  not  one  of  us  must  touch 
anything,  or  he  will  most  certainly  be  hanged  ! ""  ^ 

The  little  Dauphin's  room  was  examined  with  interest  and 
emotion.  In  the  Queen's  apartments  the  people  showed 
rather  more  animosity  and  made  more  noise:  they  opened 
the  cupboards  and  felt  the  bedding.  On  a  great  state  bed, 
between  four  gilded  pillars,  a  cherry  seller  sat  enthroned  with 
her  basket  on  the  eider-down  quilt.  "To-day  it  is  the 
Nation's  turn  to  be  comfortable  ! "  she  cried.  "  Now  then  ! 
Cherries,  fine  cherries,  at  six  sols  a  pound ! "  A  girl  whose 
hair  someone  wished  to  adoni  with  one  of  the  Queen's  scarfs 
tore  it  from  her  head,  saying  that  "  that  cap  would  pollute 
her."  The  servants  of  the  palace  were  forced  to  strip  off 
their  livery,  which  they  did  with  a  good  grace.  The  crowd 
laughed  a  great  deal,  peered  everywhere,  insisted  on  seeing 
everything,  while  all  the  time  they  continued  to  repeat  the 
injunction,  "Do  not  touch  anything!"  Some  youths  took  a 
portrait  of  the  King  from  the  wall  and  hung  it  on  the  door 
to  serve  as  a  sign  in  token  of  apartments  to  let.  The  arrival 
of  the  postman  with  the  letters,  his  bewilderment,  and  his 
uncertainty  as  to  the  proper  hands  in  which  to  place  his  mails, 
were  the  occasion  of  the  keenest  delight.  "  Gone,  without 
leaving  an  address  ! "  cried  the  bystanders.  The  letters  were 
sealed  and  handed  over  to  the  Committee  of  Inquiries.^ 

Little  by  little,  order  was  restored,  and  the  doors  were 
closed.  The  National  Guard,  of  their  own  initiative,  organ- 
ised a  system  of  surveillance ;  and  moreover,  the  street  had  a 

*  Statement  of  Pierre  Hubert,  page-of-the-palace. 

^  Revolutions  de  Paris,  June  1791,  and  Partie  de  Plaiair  avorUe  a 
Varennes.  Statements  of  Pierre  Hubert,  Desclaux,  &c.  ;  Lescure,  Gorre- 
spoTidance  Secrke,  dec. — National  Archivea^  D.  XXIXb. 

107 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

strong  attraction  for  the  sight-seers,  who  were  anxious  for  news. 
Lafayette  had  just  left  the  Carrousel.  His  horse  had  been 
brought  there  by  his  orders,  and  he,  coquetting  with  the  risks, 
had  ridden  without  escort  to  the  Guildhall.  In  the  Place  de 
Greve  the  mob  was  more  irritable.  There  were  several 
outbreaks,  and  some  men  in  the  crowd  having  recognised  the 
Due  d'Aumont,  who  commanded  the  sixth  division  of  the 
National  Guard — the  division  which  had  been  on  duty  at  the 
Tuileries  on  the  previous  day — pointed  him  out  to  the  popu- 
lace as  one  of  the  accomplices  in  the  King's  flight.  He  was 
mauled,  stripped,  and  trampled  under  foot,  and  was  being 
dragged  towards  the  river  when  Lafayette  with  a  word  saved 
his  life !  1 

For  the  commandant-general  was  still  King  of  Paris.  The 
mere  sight  of  him  produced  a  sort  of  fascination,  which  can 
only  be  explained  by  the  emotional  and  mental  immaturity 
of  the  populace,  which  was,  so  to  speak,  an  infant  in  all 
matters  political.  No  sooner  did  he  appear  than  the  crowd 
rushed  to  meet  him,  gathering  round  and  clinging  to  him, 
greeting  him  with  cheers,^  eager  even  to  touch  and  caress  his 
white  horse,  who  in  imitation  of  his  master  accepted  all  this 
adulation  with  inexhaustible  patience  and  open  satisfaction. 
This  white  horse,  who  played  his  part  in  history,  was,  accord- 
ing to  one  faction — the  idealists — a  marvellous  beast,  who  had 
cost  1500  louis  and  was  the  hero  of  miraculous  tales.^ 
According  to  the  other  faction — the  cynics — he  was  a  certain 
knock-kneed,  worn-out  pack-horse  called  VEng-ageant,  for 
which  there  was  no  longer  any  use  in  the  pages'  riding  school, 
because  the  beginners  would  not  ride  him.  This  divergence 
of  opinion  is  an  example  of  the  difficulties  that  one  encounters 
in  seeking  for  truth  in  history.  Be  it  as  it  may,  Lafayette's 
horse  was  famous.     The  Parisians  had  christened  him  Jean 

1  "M.  d'Auinont,  who  was  thought  to  have  been  entrusted  with  the 
guarding  of  the  King  that  night,  received  some  ill-usage.  He  owed  his 
rescue  to  the  courage  of  the  grenadiers  of  the  Saint  Med^ric  battalion,  of 
whom  several  were  wounded." — Partie  de  Plaisir  avort4e.  "The  Due 
d'Aumont,  who  was  maltreated  by  the  crowd,  was  nearly  stripped  and 
was  terribly  beaten." — Le  Bahillard,  No.  18,  June  22,  1791. 

2  A  ventures  de  guerre  au  temps  de  la  R4puhlique  et  du  Consulat,  by 
A.  Moreau  de  Jonn^s,  1858. 

^  Mdmoires  du  OirUral  Baron  ThUhatdt. 

108 


PARIS   ON  THE  SAME   DAY 

Leblanc,    and    professed   for    him    a   kind    of  superstitious 
reverence.^ 

When  the  commandant-general  dismounted  at  the  steps  of 
the  Guildhall  there  arose  from  the  crowd  a  prolonged  murmur 
of  reproach.  Many  people  did  not  attempt  to  hide  their  tears, 
and,  as  at  the  Tuileries,  there  was  a  perpetual  wail  of  "  The 
King  is  gone ! ""  The  people  of  Paris  felt  themselves  orphaned. 
A  happy  idea  occurred  to  Lafayette.  "  My  children,""  he 
said,  "  the  Civil  List  of  Louis  XVI  amounted  to  twenty-five 
millions :  every  Frenchman  to-day  is  richer  by  a  livre  of  in- 
come."" This  was  quite  enough — since  the  mob  is  only  an 
overgrown  child — to  occupy  every  mind  for  the  moment  and 
distract  it  from  its  grief.  Some  voices  cried  "  Bravo  !  "*"  others 
added  "  No  more  King ! ""  and  the  general,  being  in  the  vein 
for  oratory,  ended  :  "  You  call  this  flight  a  misfortune  !  And 
what  name  would  you  give  to  a  counter-revolution  that 
should  rob  you  of  your  liberty  ? ""  ^  This  time  he  was  applauded. 
His  tall,  slender,  courtly  figure  stood  out  clearly  against  the 
steps  of  the  Guildhall ;  he  made  a  sweeping  bow  like  an  actor, 
and  taking  Bailly'^s  arm,  entered  the  building. 

At  that  moment  ten  o"'clock  struck.  The  clock  bell  of  the 
Guildhall  was  still  vibrating  when  the  report  of  a  gun  burst 
upon  the  air,  and  was  answered  by  a  shout  from  the  crowd. 
Two  minutes  later  it  was  followed  by  a  second  report,  and 
a  third.  This  signal  of  distress  emanated  from  the  battery 
on  the  terre  plein  of  the  Pont  Neuf,  while  every  bell  tolled 
mournfully,  and  through  every  street  the  drummers  paraded 
by  the  roadside,  beating  the  call  to  arms.  Such  was  the 
dangerous  prescription  administered  to  the  Parisians,  a 
method  of  treatment  fatal  to  this  impressionable  people,  on 
whom  guns,  drums,  and  tocsins  have  always  produced  so 
unfailing  an  effect  that  these  exciting  stimulants  have  long 
been  excluded  from  their  regimen.  But  in  those  days  scenic 
eff*ect  was  more  considered  than  now,  and  during  the 
beginnings  of  the  Revolution  it  seemed  as  though  Paris  took 
a  pride  in  acting  her  part  well  in  the  dramatic  performance 

^  Souvenirs  d'un  page  de  la  Cour  de  Louis  XVI y  by  F61ix,  Comte  de 
France  d'H^zecques,  Baron  de  Mailly. 
2  M&moires  du  Marquis  de  La/ayette. 

109 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

on  which  the  eyes  of  the  world  were  fixed.  There  were  those, 
indeed,  who  went  too  far  that  day.  At  the  call  of  the  drum 
there  streamed  from  the  Hospital  du  Gros-Caillou  an  absurd 
procession  of  invalids,  who,  infected  by  the  general  excite- 
ment, had  broken  away  from  their  attendants,  and  having 
armed  themselves  as  best  they  could,  marched  along  in  their 
hospital  overcoats. 

The  cause  of  all  this  emotion  was  not  so  much  the  King'^s 
desertion  as  the  fixed  belief  that  a  "Saint  Bartholomew"*s 
Day  for  patriots '"'  was  imminent.  Everyone  was  convinced 
that  the  departure  of  the  royal  family  would  be  the  signal 
for  terrible  reprisals.  "We  believed  ourselves  to  be  under 
the  knife,""  wrote  Madame  Roland.^  It  was  the  universal 
opinion  that  this  disappearance  of  the  Executive  was  but  the 
prologue,  and  that  the  tragedy  was  about  to  begin.  It  was 
incredible  to  those  concerned  that  such  an  extreme  measure 
should  be  anything  but  the  first  step  in  a  vast  counter- 
revolutionary scheme.  When  they  saw  that  nothing 
happened,  and  that  this  Hegira  was  merely  an  escapade,  they 
breathed  more  freely ;  but  throughout  this  morning  of  the 
21st  the  town  was  ^feeling  like  a  man  condemned  to  death, 
standing  with  bandaged  eyes,  and  expecting  every  minute  to 
hear  the  order  to  fire. 

In  their  longing  for  protection,  the  people  crowded  round 
the  Guildhall,  where  the  sight  of  the  white  horse  with  a  man 
at  his  'head  comforted  them  a  little.  Then  they  moved 
towards  the  Riding  School  of  the  Tuileries,  where  the 
National  Assembly  was  sitting,  and  stared  at  the  long  walls 
of  the  low  building,  which  was  nearly  buried  under  a  confusion 
of  annexes — huts,  wooden  sheds,  and  tents  of  striped  canvas, 
white  and  blue.  Here  the  worthy  people  tried  to  reassure  them- 
selves by  saying  to  each  other,  though  not  very  confidently, 
"  Our  King  is  in  there  ;  Louis  XVI  may  go  where  he  chooses."" 
And  here  too  a  few  fanatical  voices  cried  "  No  more  King ! 
Vive  VAssembUe ! ''     But  these  met  with  no  response. 

The  Assembly  itself  was  in  a  terrible  state  of  embarrass- 
ment. From  a  constitutional  point  of  view  the  situation  was 
impossible. 

1  Letter  to  Bancal,  June  23,  1791. 

110 


PARIS   ON  THE    SAME    DAY 

The  sitting  began  as  usual  at  nine  o'clock.  Along  each 
side  of  the  hall,  which  had  a  low  ceiling  and  was  disproportion- 
ately long,  were  two  rows  of  benches  draped  with  green  cloth 
and  padded  at  the  back,  and  meeting  at  the  ends  to  form  an 
amphitheatre.  In  the  middle  of  one  side  were  the  platform 
and  the  bar,  opposite  to  which  stood  the  arm-chair  and  table 
of  the  President,  overlooking  a  huge  centre-table  round  which 
the  secretaries  sat  in  a  semicircle.  About  half-way  up  the 
walls  there  was  a  narrow  gallery,  the  front  of  which  was  hung 
with  green  cloth  :  these  were  the  reserved  seats.  At  the  ends, 
behind  each  of  the  amphitheatres,  there  arose,  like  two  cages 
for  wild  beasts,  the  deep  rows  of  benches  for  the  public, 
towering  tier  above  tier.  In  the  centre  stretched  the  narrow 
riding-track,  its  length  broken  only  by  two  great  piers  of 
faience,  which  acted  as  stoves  in  winter  and  as  ventilators  in 
the  spring. 

Beauhamais  the  President  was  absent.  The  excited  deputies 
drew  together  in  groups,  very  few  of  them  going  to  their 
places.  The  public  seats  were  overflowing  with  a  throng  of 
people,  who,  contrary  to  their  custom,  were  dumb  from 
intensity  of  curiosity. 

As  Beauhamais  did  not  appear,  the  ex-President  Dauchy  took 
his  place.  He  was  a  farmer  of  Beauvais,  who  had  formerly 
been  a  postillion,  and  his  manners  were  brusque  and  his 
oratory  little  to  boast  of.  He  bowed  towards  the  secretaries' 
table,  and  one  of  them,  rising,  began  to  read  the  minutes  of 
the  previous  day.     Upon  this  a  murmur  arose. 

"  What  a  time  to  read  the  minutes !  ^  cried  a  deputy  from 
the  threshold  of  the  hall. 

Dauchy  turned  round,  became  obviously  uneasy,  and  left 
the  chair.  Beauhamais  was  hastily  crossing  the  hall.  He 
appeared  preoccupied,  but  he  stepped  up  to  his  table  with 
dignity  and  perfect  calmness,  and  said,  standing — 

"Gentlemen,  I  have  an  important  piece  of  news  to 
communicate  to  you."" 

Absolute  silence  fell  upon  the  Assembly.  The  thirteen 
hundred  deputies,  the  two  thousand  spectators,  held  their 
breath. 

"It  is   my  duty   to    inform    the    Assembly,*"   continued 

111 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

Beauharnais,  "  that  at  eight  o'clock  this  morning — an  hour 
before  I  started  for  this  place — M.  le  Maire  came  to  my 
house  and  announced  to  me  some  news  that  cannot  fail  to 
fill  the  Assembly  with  consternation,  the  news  of  the  King's 
departure  with  some  of  the  royal  family." 

There  was  not  a  word,  not  a  sound,  not  a  movement. 

"I  imagine,"  the  President  went  on  gravely,  "that  the 
National  Assembly,  at  such  an  unforeseen  and  important 
juncture,  will  consider  it  desirable,  for  the  tranquillity  of  the 
kingdom  and  the  maintenance  of  the  constitution,  to  give  the 
most  prompt  orders  that  every  part  of  the  kingdom  shall  be 
informed  as  quickly  as  possible  of  this  alarming  news."  ^ 

Beauharnais  sat  down,  and  silence  followed.  No  one 
opened  his  mouth ;  the  Assembly  had  apparently  fallen  into 
a  state  of  lethargy.  It  seemed  as  though,  in  that  gathering 
of  men  who  had  been  holding  forth  ceaselessly  for  twenty-five 
months,  not  one  had  a  word  left  to  say,  as  though  [the  fount 
of  speech  had  suddenly  run  dry.  At  this  critical  moment 
the  figure  of  Deputy  Regnaud  suddenly  appeared  on  the 
platform.  He  was  a  lawyer  from  Saint-Jean-d'Angely, 
renowned  for  his  imperturbable  self-confidence — a  man 
twenty-nine  years  of  age,  with  the  broad  shoulders  and 
general  build  of  a  Hercules.  It  was  his  boast,  in  his  own 
social  circle,  that  he  could  lift  a  man  on  the  calf  of  his  leg, 
and  hold  a  woman  upright  on  his  hand  with  his  arm 
outstretched.  No  one  less  stimulating  than  this  lively 
individual  could  have  shaken  the  Assembly  out  of  its  torpor. 
He  began  by  extolling  the  nerve,  coolness,  and  concord  of 
his  colleagues ;  then  he  proposed  that  couriers  should  be 
instantly  despatched  to  every  department,  "  with  an  order  to 
arrest  any  person  who  was  leaving  the  kingdom."  Camus, 
with  an  air  of  great  seriousness  and  severity,  supported  the 
motion,  and  a  debate  on  the  point  ensued. 

Beauharnais  informed  his  colleagues  that  Lafayette  had 
already  sent  couriers  by  every  road.  This  was  surprising. 
Lafayette  "  was  not  a  legal  authority."  Who  had  the  right 
of  giving  such  an  order  ?     The  executive  power  alone.     But 

1  Parliamentary  Archives.  National  Assembly,  sitting  of  the  21st  June, 
1791. 

112 


PARIS   ON  THE   SAME   DAY 

this  power  was  flying  from  the  country.  And  the  Assembly 
proceeded  to  follow  this  vicious  circle  without  any  possibility 
of  coming  to  a  conclusion. 

Nevertheless,  they  voted  for  the  despatch  of  the  couriers. 
But  what  form  of  decree  should  they  carry  with  them,  and 
what  should  it  prescribe.?  To  seize  everyone  who  was 
leaving:  the  kingdom  ?  And  supposing  they  met  the  King 
on  the  road,  were  they  to  wait  until  they  reached  the 
frontier  before  they  laid  hands  on  him  ?  Regnaud  originated 
the  idea  of  adding  "  a  special  provision  to  the  effect  that  all 
the  individuals  in  the  party  of  the  royal  family  were  to  be 
arrested  wherever  they  might  be."  Camus  declared  that  he 
considered  the  word  arrest  objectionable,  and  thereby  aroused 
a  murmur  of  disapproval. 

"  Ill-disposed  persons  must  not  be  able  to  say,*"  he  urged, 
"that  the  National  Assembly  ordered  the  King  to  be 
'  arrested,'  but  merely  that  he  should  be  '  prevented  from 
continuing  his  journey  and  made  to  return  to  his  ordinary 
place  of  abode.'  *" 

This  distinction  was  generally  approved.  The  secretaries 
scribbled  hastily,  and  handed  a  sheet  of  paper  to  the 
President,  who  read  the  rough  draft  with  great  deliberation 
amid  profound  silence  : — 

"  The  National  Assembly  decrees  that  the  Minister  of  the 
Interior  shall  instantly  despatch  couriers  into  every  depart- 
ment, with  orders  to  arrest,  or  to  have  arrested,  any  person 
whatever  who  shall  be  leaving  the  kingdom  .  .  .  and  that 
in  the  case  of  the  said  couriers  overtaking  any  members  of 
the  royal  family,  the  public  officials,  national  guards,  or 
troops  of  the  line  shall  hold  themselves  bound  to  take  all 
measures  necessary  to  stop  the  consequences  of  the  said 
departure  by  preventing  the  journey  from  being  continued, 
and  to  report  everything  to  the  National  Assembly." 

This  was  greeted  with  murmurs  of  approval  mingled  with 
cheers,  and  the  decree,  being  put  to  the  vote,  was  adopted 
unanimously.  But  who  was  to  carry  it.?  The  Ministers 
were  not  there,  being  forbidden  by  the  regulations  to  enter 
the  hall.  And  moreover,  since  they  were  appointed  by  the 
King,  it  was  possible   that  they  would  refuse  to  obey  the 

113  I 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

Assembly.  A  decree  was  passed  then  admitting  them  to 
the  bar,  followed  by  a  second  decree  which  declared  the 
sitting  to  be  en  permanence.  The  wildest  disorder  reigned  in 
the  hall,  while  the  deputies  quibbled  and  interrupted  each 
other  and  lost  time  in  preposterous  suggestions.  It  was 
Delavigne  who  originated  the  idea  of  "  firing  the  heaviest 
gun  in  Paris  at  intervals  of  ten  minutes,  in  order  that  the 
news  of  the  event  that  had  just  occurred  might  be  spread 
from  place  to  place  by  the  noise  of  the  reports."  The 
motion  was  much  admired ;  but  one  Martineau  remarked, 
not  without  justice,  that  "  the  reports  of  the  guns  would,  it 
was  true,  create  anxiety  throughout  the  kingdom,  but  would 
not  inform  the  people  of  the  cause  for  alarm.  Couriers,"'''  he 
added,  "  would  be  more  useful  than  guns.'''  This  was  obvious  ; 
but  no  couriers  were  to  be  had  without  the  co-operation  of  the 
Minister,  and  no  one  dared  to  guarantee  his  approval.  It 
was  necessary  to  wait,  but  the  Assembly  became  irritable 
under  the  sense  of  its  helplessness. 

"  At  all  events  let  us  do  something,  gentlemen  !  '*''  they 
cried. 

The  people  without  were  battering  on  the  walls  of  the 
Riding  School.  It  had  just  been  decreed  that  the  doors  were 
to  be  kept  closed,  and  no  deputation  admitted,^  and  the 
crowd  was  growing  impatient.  The  sound  of  the  constant 
uproar  reached  the  hall,  where  the  legislators  were  leaving 
their  seats  and  carrying  on  a  cross-fire  of  conversation. 

"Be  calm,  gentlemen,  be  calm  ! ''''  enjoined  the  President. 

The  deputies  crowded  round  the  secretaries''  table,  and  some 
of  them  seated  themselves  at  their  ease  on  the  steps  of  the 
platform,  mopping  their  faces,  for  the  heat  was  great. 
Others  defied  the  regulations  by  gathering  round  the  stoves, 
attracted  by  the  fresh  air  that  ventilated  through  them. 
From  time  to  time  the  ushers  passed  along  the  hall, 
sprinkling  the  floor  with  vinegar  as  a  hygienic  precaution.^ 

1  Camus. — I  request  that  the  National  Assembly  will  give  orders  to 
the  chief  authorities  and  to  those  in  command  of  the  police  force  to  employ 
a  sufficient  guard  to  prevent  any  person  other  than  the  deputies  from 
entering  the  hall  (cheers).  The  Assembly  adopted  this  motion. — Parlia- 
mentary Archives,  sitting  of  June  21,  1791. 

2  Armand  Brette,  Histoire  des  Mifices  oil  ont  sidgd  les  assemble  parle- 
mentaires  de  la  Revolution.     Vol.  I.  :  Le  Manage  des  Tuileries, 


PARIS   ON  THE   SAME   DAY 

Then,  amid  the  tui'moil,  Beauharnais  rose  to  his  feet.  He 
had  just  learnt  that  one  of  ljafayette"*s  aides-de-camp,  who  had 
been  stopped  by  the  mob,  was  demanding  to  be  heard  by  the 
Assembly,  and  a  moment  later  a  young  officer  appeared  at 
the  bar.     It  was  Romeuf. 

He  appeared  somewhat  agitated,  and  related  how,  "  being 
entrusted  with  an  order  from  the  commandant-general,  he  left 
the  Hotel  Lafayette  with  his  comrade  Curmer,  with  the  in- 
tention of  reaching  the  barrier  and  huiTying  along  the  road 
to  Mons,  when,  on  arriving  at  the  Pont  Louis  XVI  (now  de 
la  Concorde),  he  was  stopped  by  the  workmen  who  were 
employed  in  completing  it,  thrown  from  his  horse,  and  greatly 
maltreated.  He  succeeded  in  escaping  by  the  help  of  some 
worthy  men  who  warded  off  the  blows,  but  the  mob  dragged 
him  to  the  guard-house  of  Les  Feuillants,  and  he  was  very 
uneasy  about  his  companion,  who  had  disappeared  in  the 
tumult.'' 

The  Assembly  was  not  so  much  interested  in  the  fate  of 
young  Curmer  as  in  the  substance  of  Lafayette's  order.  They 
demanded  to  see  it.  Romeuf  presented  the  paper  to  the 
President,  who  read  it  aloud  to  the  sound  of  unanimous 
applause ;  after  which  Beauharnais,  seizing  the  opportunity, 
suggested  that  this  courier  who  had  fallen  from  heaven  should 
be  entrusted  with  a  copy  of  the  Assembly's  decree.  Cries  of 
"  Yes !  Yes ! "  arose  from  every  bench.  Romeuf  entreated  "  that 
steps  should  be  taken  to  secure  the  safety  of  his  comrade,  who 
was  perhaps  at  that  moment  in  great  need  of  help."  But  the 
attention  of  the  deputies  was  otherwise  engaged.  They  con- 
gratulated him,  encouraged  him,  applauded  him ;  then  they 
presented  him  with  a  copy  of  the  decree  for  the  pursuit  of 
the  King,  and,  in  order  that  he  might  cross  Paris  and  leave 
the  town  without  further  mishap,  the  Assembly  gave  him  the 
protection  of  two  of  its  members  as  far  as  the  barrier.  La 
Tour  Maubourg  and  Biauzat  left  the  hall  with  him,  preceded 
by  an  usher. 

The  crowd  gave  way,  and  he  passed  out.  His  guardians 
did  not  return  to  the  Assembly  until  they  had  placed  him  in 
the  hands  of  the  officer  of  the  guard  at  the  Barrier  of  St. 
Denis.     Thence  Romeuf  was  intending  to  go  to  Le  Bourget 

11$  1% 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

and  to  follow  the  Laon  and  Soissons  ^  road,  when  a  herb-seller 
from  Claye,  whose  cart  was  standing  before  the  barrier 
building,  began  to  relate  how,  as  he  was  travelling  in  the 
direction  of  Paris  on  the  previous  night,  he  had  met  upon  the 
road,  at  about  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  "  a  berline  with 
six  horses  and  a  cabriolet  with  three."  This  rather  vague  clue 
would  no  doubt  have  been  insufficient  to  turn  Romeuf  from 
the  road  he  intended  to  follow,  had  it  not  been  that  as  he 
was  in  the  act  of  mounting  his  horse  a  man  arrived  from  the 
Guildhall  with  the  news  that  a  Municipal  Commission  then 
sitting  en  permanence  at  the  Tuileries  had  just  heard  the 
evidence  of  a  young  postillion  named  Pierre  Lebas,  who  was 
in  the  employ  of  his  uncle,  a  job-master  in  the  Rue  des 
Champs  Elysees. 

Pierre  Lebas  had  related  that  two  men,  unknown  to  him, 
having  ordered,  at  two  o'clock  on  the  20th,  three  horses  to  go 
to  Claye  in  the  evening,  he  had  led  the  horses  at  about  nine 
o'clock  to  the  Rue  Millet,  stopping  at  the  first  gateway  as  he 
came  in  by  the  Faubourg  St.  Honor^.  They  were  there 
harnessed  to  a  cabriolet,  which  he  was  ordered  to  take  to  the 

1  In  the  Relation  du  dipart  de  Louis  X  VI,  by  M.  le  Due  de  Choiseul,  this 
important  incident  is  inaccurately  described.  The  author  says:  "M.  de 
Romeuf  had  been  sent  along  the  Valenciennes  road  by  M.  de  Lafayette  to 
track  the  King,  When  he  arrived  at  the  barrier  that  opens  on  the  road 
to  Le  Bourget,  he  was  seized  by  the  crowd  who  had  gathered  there,  and 
his  life  was  threatened.  He  persuaded  them  to  take  him  before  the 
Assembly,  that  they  might  satisfy  themselves  of  the  fact  of  his  mission. 
At  the  moment  of  their  arrival  there  a  herb-seller  from  Claye  was  making 
a  deposition  at  the  President's  table,  to  the  effect  that  between  two  and 
three  in  the  morning  he  had  met  a  berline  with  six  horses  and  a  cabriolet 
with  three,  between  Bondy  and  Claye.  Having  heard  this  deposition,  the 
President  himself  changed  M.  de  Romeuf  s  route,  put  into  his  hands  the 
decree  of  the  Assembly  ordering  the  arrest  .  .  .  and  despatched  him 
along  the  road  to  Chalons." — Choiseul,  p.  102. 

Now  it  was  not  at  the  barrier,  as  Weber  said  (M^moires)  and  Choiseul 
repeated,  that  Romeuf  was  stopped  by  the  crowd,  but,  as  we  have  seen, 
at  the  Pont  Louis  XVI  (now  de  la  Concorde).  It  was  before  the  Assembly 
that  the  herb-seller  made  his  statement ;  he  was  not  even  heard  by  the 
Permanent  Committee  of  the  municipality.  Moreover,  this  herb-seller 
could  not  have  met  the  berline  and  the  cabriolet  between  Claye  and  Bondy, 
since  it  was  only  at  Claye  that  the  cabriolet  met  the  berline,  which 
travelled  from  Bondy  to  Claye  alone. 

We  mention  the  herb-seller's  evidence,  however,  because  all  Paris  was 
talking  about  it  in  the  course  of  that  day  ;  but  strictly  speaking  the  first 
indication  of  the  road  taken  by  the  fugitives  was  given,  as  we  shall  see, 
by  the  postillion  Pierre  Lebas,  before  the  Permanent  Committee  at  the 
Tuileries, 

116 


PARIS   ON   THE   SAME   DAY 

other  side  of  the  Pont  Royal,  where  he  had  to  wait  a  long 
time.  At  midnight  an  individual  had  come  up  to  him, 
accompanied  by  two  ladies,  of  whom  one  was  very  stout  and 
the  other  tall,  slight,  and  pretty.  Only  the  ladies  entered  the 
cabriolet,  which  then  drove  off.  At  the  posting-house  at 
Claye,  which  they  reached  at  about  two  o'clock,  the  ladies 
had  alighted.  Another  carriage  was  following,  they  said, 
and  they  wished  to  wait  for  it.  It  was  a  quarter  past  three 
before  the  arrival  of  this  second  carriage — a  great  berline, 
entirely  closed,  drawn  by  six  horses  and  preceded  by  two 
mounted  couriers. 

Pierre  Lebas  had  seen  no  more.  "  No  words  had  been  ex- 
changed,'"' and  the  two  ladies  had  again  taken  their  places, 
without  a  word,  in  the  cabriolet,  which  had  started  off,  after 
the  change  of  horses,  with  the  berline.  He,  for  his  part, 
had  received  "  a  louis  for  the  horses,  and  six  francs  as  a 
paurboire.^  ^ 

This  detailed  account  had  attracted  all  the  more  attention 
that  the  address  mentioned  by  Lebas  was  that  of  the  Comte 
de  Fersen,^  whose  relations  with  the  Court  were  known  to 
every  one.  Trusting  to  these  rumours,  which  were  more  or 
less  altered  as  they  passed  from  mouth  to  mouth,  Romeuf 
decided  to  change  his  route.  He  rode  to  the  barrier  of  St. 
Martin,  where  he  learnt  that  an  hour  earlier  one  of  his  fellow- 
couriers,  Bayon,  had  passed  through  on  his  way  to  Metz,^ 
carrying  the  oi-der  of  Lafayette. 

Nevertheless  Romeuf  hurried  on.  It  was  nearly  one  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon  when  he  started  off  at  full  speed  along  the 
road  by  which,  eleven  hours  before,  the  heavy  berline  of  the 
royal  family  had  travelled. 

*  The  municipal  officers  who  repaired  to  the  Tuileries,  in  accordance 
with  the  resolution  of  the  Department  of  Paris,  secured  the  first  evidence, 
which  was  to  this  effect  (here  follows  the  statement  of  Lebas,  which  we 
quote  almost  verbatim). — National  Archives,  D.  XXIXb,  36,  dossier  344. 

^  The  Rue  Millet  had  a  short  time  before  been  officially  named  the  Rue 
Matignon. 

*  ;^yon  had  also  found  much  difficulty  in  crossing  Paris  and  reaching 
the  barrier.  Having  left  the  Tuileries  at  ten  o'clock,  he  only  left  Paris  at 
midday. — Rapport  ^exa^t  et  sommaire  de  Farrestation  du  roi,  by  Bayon, 
commandant  of  the  seventh  battalion  of  the  second  division. 


117 


CHAPTER   V 

THE   PURSUIT 

Thenceforward  Romeuf  was  able  to  track  the  course  of  the 
berline  at  every  stage.  The  news  of  the  flight  had  spread 
from  Paris  with  incredible  speed,  and  all  along  the  route 
Bayon  had  left  a  trail  of  excitement  behind  him  as  he  passed. 
Even  at  Bondy,  the  first  stopping  place,  where  an  inquiry  was 
set  on  foot,  the  resulting  information  was  very  strange. 

The  sergeant  of  the  national  mounted  police  of  Pantin  had 
on  the  previous  day,  the  20th  June,  received  orders  to  mobilise 
the  whole  of  his  company,  and  then  to  proceed  along  the  road 
to  join  the  companies  from  Bondy,  La  Villette,  and 
Menilmontant.  This  little  body  of  troops — thirty  or  forty 
horsemen  at  least — had  mustered  at  the  house  of  a  wine 
merchant  called  Desbille,  at  the  spot  known  as  "  La  Petite 
Villette. ""  At  eleven  o*'clock  these  four  companies  of  police 
had  gone  to  the  quarries  of  Montfaucon  to  institute  a  search 
there,  which  had,  however,  no  result. 

While  returning  to  Pantin  with  his  men  at  about  two 
o'clock  in  the  morning.  Sergeant  Vautier  had  passed  on  the 
high-road  "  a  four-horsed  carriage  with  an  awning  on  the  top 
of  it,  going  at  a  smart  trot  towards  Meaux."  ^ 

Now  that  it  was  known  almost  with  certainty  that  the 
King  had  taken  the  road  to  Meaux,  it  appeared  evident  that 
this  carriage  was  his,  and  that  Sergeant  Vautier  had  missed  a 
fine  opportunity  of  distinguishing  himself.  And  it  was 
indeed  the  royal  berline,  drawn  by  Fersen's  four  horses  and 
driven   by   that   Swedish    nobleman    himself,    disguised    as 

1  National  Archives,  D.  XXIXb,  36. 

118 


THE  PURSUIT 

a  coachman.  As  for  the  mobilisation  of  the  mounted  police, 
opinions  were  divided.  Some  suggested  that  they  had  been 
despatched  to  Montfaucon  on  the  pretext  of  searching  the 
quan-ies  in  order  to  clear  the  road,  and  to  find  a  safe  field  for 
their  vigilance;  others  declared,  on  the  contrary,  that  the 
constabulary  had  been  armed  in  order  that  it  might  be  useful 
in  case  of  need. 

This  was  the  opinion  of  a  certain  Fournier,  a  labourer  of 
d'Andilly,  who  in  crossing  the  main  road  to  Pantin  in  the 
night  "  had  seen  three  mounted  policemen  ranged  along  the 
road,  from  the  turning  to  Les  Vertues  to  the  door  of 
M.  Tiphaine,  the  Mayor  of  Pantin."  One  of  the  horsemen 
perceiving  him,  "  came  towards  him  sword  in  hand,  and  asked 
him,  Where  are  you  going  ? ""  For  all  answer  Fournier  had 
turned  into  the  road  to  the  Pres-Saint-Gervais ;  but  at  that 
moment  there  passed  along  the  road  "  a  great  berline  full  of 
people,""  ^  and  Fournier  saw  one  of  the  travellers  put  his  head 
out  of  the  window  and  call  to  the  di'iver,  "  who  was  dressed 
in  an  overcoat,""  "  Une  raiie  sur  terre — one  wheel  on  the 
ground !  We  shall  make  less  noise  and  be  less  shaken ! ""  ^ 
Founiier  was  instinctively  alarmed,  "and  moved  away  to 
return  to  his  work."'"' 

The  travellers,  then,  had  left  traces  behind  them  every- 
where as  they  passed.  Even  at  Claye  it  was  said  that  they 
had  been  detained  at  Meaux  since  the  morning.  Others 
said  they  had  been  stopped  at  Senlis ;  but  the  first  of  these 
rumours  was  so  circumstantial  that  Romeuf,  as  he  approached 
Claye,  expected  to  find  the  fugitives  there.  He  arrived  there 
some  time  before  four  oV'lock,  having  covered  eleven  leagues 
in  two  hours  and  a  half.  At  the  posting-house  in  the  Place 
Saint-lfitienne  there  was  much  excitement,  but  no  sign  that  the 
royal  family  had  been  there  other  than  the  announcement  of 
the  flight  made  by  Bayon  as  he  passed  at  about  half  past 

1  Natioival  Archives,  D.  XXIXb,  36. 

2  This  was  the  phrase  hallowed  by  custom.  **  In  the  neighbourhood  of 
Paris  the  roads  are  paved,  and  as  the  postillions  drive  very  quickly,  the 
efifect  on  carriages  and  chaises  is  very  unpleasant.  This  is  why,  if  weather 
permits,  it  is  usual  to  tell  the  postillions  to  go  on  the  ground,  that  is  to  say, 
on  the  unpaved  paths  that  run  beside  the  high-roads." — Guide  du  voyageur 
en  Europe,  by  Reichard  Weimar,  1805.  Vol.  II.,  p.  157.  France  :  means 
of  travelling. 

119 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

two.  He  had  requisitioned  three  horses  in  the  name  of  the 
commandant-general,  one  for  himself  and  one  for  the  groom 
who  was  to  bring  back  the  animals ;  ^  and  he  had  immediately 
gone  on  his  way  towards  Chalons,  thus  keeping  more  than  an 
hour's  advantage  over  Romeuf.      Petit,  the  postmaster,^  now 


GREASE-POT  FROM  THE  OLD   POSTING-HOUSE  AT   MEAUX. 

(From  M.  Henri  Lavedan's  Collection). 

quite   well   remembered   having   furnished   eleven  horses  at 
about  five  in  the  morning  for  a  large  berline  from  Paris, 

^  Bayon  requisitioned  horses  as  he  went  along.  We  gather  this  from  a 
*'  List  of  horses  furnished  for  the  town  of  Paris  on  the  occasion  of  the 
King's  departure  by  me,  Petit,  postmaster  at  Meaux,  in  June,  1791." 

"21st.  Three  horses  for  the  commandant  of  the  battalion  of  St. 
Germain-des-Pr^s,  bearer  of  an  order  from  M.  de  Lafayette  and  from  the 
town,  on  his  way  to  Saint-Jean.  Post-horses  1/2,  5  livres,  12  sols,  6 
deniers  ;  fee  for  one  postillion,  per  stage,  1  livre,  10  sols." 

Similar  lists  were  furnished  by  the  postmaster  of  Claye.  There,  as  at 
Meaux,  one  may  trace  the  course  of  Bayon's  journey  by  the  unpaid  bills. 
Of  Romeuf  s  journey  no  trace  remains,  doubtless  because  he  paid  for  the 
horses  at  each  stage,  like  ordinary  travellers. 

2  According  to  a  tradition  that  seems  reliable,  Petit,  the  postmaster  of 
Meaux,  hearing  that  his  colleague  Drouet  had  stopped  the  King,  was  filled 
with  such  despair  at  the  thought  that  he  had  missed  this  opportunity  of 
covering  himself  with  glory  that  he  hanged  himself  a  few  days  later. 

120 


THE   PURSUIT 

accompanied  by  a  cabriolet  and  two  couriers,  but  the  change 
of  horses  had  not  been  marked  by  anything  abnormal. 
Later  on,  about  two  hours  before  Bayon  had  passed,  a 
horseman  who  seeemed  in  a  great  huiTy  had  arrived,  riding  a 
superb  animal  called  KArgentin,  and  followed  by  a  groom. 
He  had  left  his  horse  and  servant  at  Meaux,  and  had 
continued  his  journey  alone  on  a  post-horse.  Romeuf,  while 
his  fresh  mount  was  being  saddled,  asked  to  speak  to  the 
groom.  The  man  was  called  Duchesne,  was  attached  to  the 
royal  stables,  and  was  going  to  Metz  with  the  horses  of 
M.  de  Briges,  one  of  the  King's  equerries  and  a  major  in  the 
Hainaut  Rifles.  Duchesne  had  started  from  Paris  early  in  the 
morning  with  this  gentleman,  who  had  left  him  at  Meaux 
and  had  gone  on  alone. 

Romeuf,  now  almost  certain  that  he  was  on  the  right  track, 
sprang  into  his  saddle  and  rode  off,  while  the  onlookers — for 
a  crowd  had  gathered  round  the  posting-house — continued  to 
catechise  Duchesne,  who,  though  he  swore  that  he  knew  no 
more  than  he  had  said,  was  shut  up  in  the  local  prison  for 
fear  of  accidents.^ 

*  The  story  of  M.  de  Briges  is  very  obscnre,  and  no  doubt  it  would  be 
very  interesting  to  throw  light  upon  it.  Joseph  Christophe  de  Malbee  de 
Montjouc,  Comte  de  Briges,  seems  to  have  been  intimately  concerned  with 
all  the  events  of  the  Revolution.  Unfortunately,  one  can  nowhere  find  any 
but  the  vaguest  traces  of  him.  In  a  letter  from  Marie  Antoinette  to  Mercy, 
dated  February  3rd,  1791,  and  published  by  M.  Feuillet  de  Conches  {Louis 
X  VI,  Marie  AiUoinette  et  Madame  Elizabeth,  Plon,  1864-73),  we  find  this 
allusion:  *'Our  flight  will  take  place  by  night.  .  .  .  M.  de  Briges  will  act  as 
our  courier."  We  fmd  him  again  on  the  10th  August,  1792,  and  on  the  follow- 
ing days,  at  the  Feuillants  and  the  Temple,  among  the  most  intimate  and 
devoted  servants  of  the  royal  family  (Beauchesne,  Louis  XVII,  13th  edi- 
tion. Vol.  I. ,  p.  233. )  He  was  shot  at  Vannes  on  the  3rd  August,  1795, 
after  the  Quiberon  Expedition.  Ho  was  thirty-four  years  old,  {Expidi- 
tion  des  Emigres  d,  Quiberon,  by  Charles  Robert,  of  the  Oratory  of  Rennes. ) 
This  is  what  the  Comte  de  S^ze  says  of  the  journey  of  the  Comte  de  Briges 
in  his  Histoire  de  V^v^nement  de  Varennes.  It  must  be  remembered  that  de 
Sfee  obtained  information  on  many  details  from  those  who  had  been 
attached  to  the  Court.  "  No  doubt  the  Marquis  de  Briges  had  started  oS 
to  follow  the  King.  It  is  even  known  what  horse  he  rode  ;  L'Argentin 
had  been  given  to  him,  one  of  the  fleetest  horses  in  the  chief  stables,  but  it 
is  also  remembered  that  M.  de  Briges  only  heard  of  the  King's  departure 
late  in  the  morning,  and  it  was  not  till  midday  of  the  21  st  that  he  urgently 
demanded  a  horse."  This  information  had  been  furnished  to  de  Seze  by 
M.  de  la  Ravine,  who  had  been  one  of  Louis  XVI's  outriders. 

We  have  not  been  able  to  verify  the  hour  at  which  de  Briges  left  Paris, 
but  he  had  started  before  Bayon,  who  only  overtook  him,  as  we  shall  see, 
at  Chaintrix,  although  de  Briges  had  left  L'Argentin  at  Meaux,  and  had 

121 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

At  the  posting-house  of  La  Ferte,  which  he  reached  after 
five  o'clock,  Romeuf  was  again  [able  to  trace  the  respective 
journeys  of  the  berline  and  the  Comte  de  Briges,  followed 
after  the  lapse  of  an  hour  by  Bayon,  who  had  changed 
horses  there  before  four  o''clock,  having  apparently  increased 
his  advantage  over  Romeuf.  The  latter  stayed  only  to 
obtain  a  fresh  horse,  and  hurried  on  his  way.  At  Vieux- 
Maisons  he  found  the  same  clues.  A  postillion  named 
Fran9ois  Picard  related  that,  having  been  at  the  posting- 
house  of  Montmirail  between  nine  and  ten  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  he  had  been  present  when  the  horses  of  the  berline 
were  changed,  and  had  recognised  the  King.  Picard  was  on 
the  point  of  going  to  Paris  to  make  a  deposition.^  There 
was  a  rumour,  he  added,  that  the  royal  carriage  had  lost  a 
great  deal  of  time  at  Etoges,  six  leagues  beyond  Montmirail, 
and  that  perhaps  it  was  there  even  now.  Romeuf,  pressing 
on  with  all  possible  speed,  passed  through  Montmirail  soon 
after  six  o'clock,  and  at  a  quarter  to  seven  was  at  Fromentieres, 
thus  keeping  up  his  pace  of  five  leagues  an  hour.  At  half 
past  seven  he  dashed  down  the  Etoges  hill,  and  learnt  at  the 
posting-house  that  Bayon  had  obtained  a  fresh  mount  there 
before  five  o'clock,  having  therefore  gained  upon  Romeuf  to 
the  extent  of  two  hours  and  a  half.  There  was,  however, 
nothing  fresh  to  be  learnt  here  with  regard  to  the  fugitives  : 
the  berline  had  changed  horses  at  half  past  one,  and  had  con- 
tinued its  journey  without  incident. 

The  heat  was  oppressive.     The  sky  had  been  dull  since  the 
morning,  and  it  was  only  shortly  before  seven  o'clock  that 

continued  his  journey  on  an  ordinary  post-horse.  Now,  as  Bayon  crossed 
the  barrier  at  midday,  according  to  his  own  statement,  it  follows  that  de 
Briges  must  have  started  earlier  than  de  S^ze  records.  Moreover,  save  the 
words  of  Marie  Antoinette  quoted  above,  there  is  nothing  to  prove  that  de 
Briges  was  in  the  secret  of  the  King's  flight.  He  cannot  have  started  off 
upon  the  Metz  road  until  ten  or  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  after  having 
heard,  in  the  same  way  as  everyone  else,  of  the  departure  of  the  royal 
family.  We  may  add  that  some  chroniclers  have  declared  that  de  Briges 
did  not  die  at  Quiberon,  and  have  given  him  a  leading  part  to  play  in  the 
adventures  of  one  of  the  individuals  who  claimed  the  name  and  personality 
of  the  Dauphin,  Louis  XVI's  son.  The  assertion  of  the  survival  of  the 
Comte  de  Briges  seems  to  us  to  be  founded  on  no  evidence. 

1  He  made  it,  accordingly,  on  the  22nd  June,  at  half -past  four  in  the 
morning,  before  the  members  of  the  Permanent  Committee  at  the  Guild- 
hall.—iV^ai^ona^  Archives^  D.  XXIXb,  37. 

122 


THE   PURSUIT 

the  sun,  still  high  in  the  heavens,  broke  through  the  clouds. 
Romeuf  was  still  riding :  four  leagues  farther  on  was  Chain- 
trix,  the  next  posting-house ;  he  reached  it  at  a  quarter  past 
eight. 


It  was  there,  as  we  have  seen,  that  the  fugitives,  exhausted 
with  fatigue,  had  admitted  their  identity  to  the  postmaster 
Jean  de  Lagny  and  his  daughters.  Had  the  latter  allowed  no 
hint  of  this  alarming  secret  to  leak  out  ?  Had  the  staff  of 
the  stables — ostlers,  postillions,  stable-boys — spread  no 
rumour  of  the  affair  ?  It  seems  impossible.  Be  that  as  it 
may,  the  royal  family  had  been  gone  from  the  posting-house 
of  Chaintrix  for  more  than  an  hour  when  there  arrived  from 
Etoges  that  Comte  de  Briges  who  had  attracted  attention  on  his 
way  through  Meaux.  He  wore  the  uniform  of  the  dragoons. 
He  asked  for  a  horse  to  take  him  to  Chalons,  and  as  the 
posting-house  was  also  the  inn,^  he  prepared  to  dine.  In  the 
dining-room  there  was  another  traveller — a  man  named 
Theveny,  a  chemist  from  Chalons. 

De  Briges  was  finishing  his  meal  at  about  a  quarter  to  six 
when  another  horseman  appeared  before  the  door  and  dis- 
mounted. This  man,  who  was  Bayon,  appeared  overcome 
with  fatigue,  and  asked  for  news  of  the  berline  that  he  was 
pursuing.  Jean  de  Lagny  described  the  carriage  and  those 
who  travelled  in  it,  but,  fearing  that  he  might  be  blamed  for 
not  having  stopped  them,  he  did  not  mention  that  he  had 
recognised  them.  Bayon's  narrative  is  very  precise  on  certain 
points,  but  also  very  succinct.  By  following  his  journey, 
stage  by  stage,  one  may  deduce  that  in  less  than  six  hours  he 
had  ridden  thirty-five  leagues  and  changed  horses  ten  times. 
It  is  easy  to  believe,  then,  that  when  he  arrived  at  Chaintrix 
he  was  absolutely  exhausted,  and  only  too  glad  to  find  some 
excuse  for  going  no  farther.  The  excuse  he  found  was  de 
Briges.  Bayon,  on  seeing  this  soldier,  whom  he  had  reason  to 
regard  as  suspect  and  had  tracked,  stage  by  stage,  from  Bondy, 
produced  the  credentials  of  his  mission,  and  made  them  his 
authority  for  forbidding  the  postmaster  to  supply  the  officer 

*  ItitUraire  compkt  du  royaume  de  France.  Route  de  Paris  a  Chdlons- 
8ur-Mame. 

123 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

with  the  means  of  continuing  his  journey.  Then,  being  quite 
certain  from  the  description  that  the  berline  that  had  pre- 
ceded him  was  indeed  the  royal  carriage,  he  despatched  a 
courier  with  orders  to  stop  it.  Jean  de  Lagny's  son,  a  lad  of 
thirteen,  undertook  this  mission,  sprang  upon  his  fleetest 
horse,  and  rode  off  at  full  speed  towards  Chalons.^ 

Bayon,  feeling  every  confidence  that  in  the  hands  of  this 
messenger  the  chase  would  lose  nothing  in  speed,  returned  to 
catechise  de  Briges.  That  officer  declined  to  give  his  name 
and  rank,  but  did  not  hesitate  to  admit  that,  being  in  the 
King's  service,  and  having  heard  in  Paris  at  about  nine  o'clock 
in  the  morning  of  his  Majesty's  departure,  he  had  set  off  to 
join  him,  or  at  all  events  to  return  to  Metz,  where  his  own 
regiment  was  quartered.  And  further,  being  driven  to  prove 
that  he  had  not  been  in  the  secret  of  the  King's  flight,  he 
accounted  for  his  time  during  the  last  three  days.  "On 
Saturday  the  18th  he  had  ridden  with  the  King,  and  on 
Sunday  morning  had  gone  to  pay  his  respects  to  him."  On 
Monday  he  had  left  Paris  at  seven  in  the  morning  and  had 
spent  the  whole  day  at  Saint- Germain,  "  whence  he  returned 
to  Auteuil  in  the  evening,  going  home  only  at  midnight, 
without  having  put  his  foot  inside  the  Tuileries."  ^  Bayon, 
who  was  gaining  a  breathing-space  by  this  inquiry,  prolonged 
it  as  much  as  possible.  And  moreover,  it  won  for  him  another 
notable  advantage,  for  the  imaginary  and  useless  duty  that 
he  had  undertaken  in  detaining  this  prisoner  made  it  neces- 
sary for  him  to  continue  his  journey  in  a  carriage.  This  whole 
farce,  the  search  for  a  vehicle  and  the  interrogatory  of  the 
prisoner,  to  which  no  doubt  the  business  of  supper  was  added, 
furnished  a  pretext  for  a  well-earned  respite  which  lasted  for 
two  hours.^  It  was  therefore  a  quarter  to  eight  when  Bayon, 
somewhat  recovered,  stepped  into  the  chaise  which  the  post- 

^  "  I  have  no  hesitation  in  believing  that  I  am  on  the  King's  track,  but 
M.  de  Briges  is  on  my  hands.  ...  I  am  sending  a  courier  on  before  me  at 
full  speed,  with  orders  to  stop  those  two  carriages,  which  I  described 
exactly  as  the  postmaster  had  just  described  them  to  me.  It  is  his  son 
whom  I  have  entrusted  with  this  mission." — Bayon's  Narrative. 

2  National  Archives,  D.  XXIXb,  36. 

3  "  M.  Bayon  had  been  detained  for  two  hours  by  the  business  of  arrest- 
ing M.  de  Briges.  .  .  ." — Romeuf  s  verbal  report  to  the  National  Assembly, 
Parliamentary  Archives,  1st  series,  XXVII-478. 

124 


THE  PURSUIT 

master  had  succeeded  in  procuring  for  him.^  He  took  with 
him  not  only  de  Briges,  but  also  the  chemist  Theveny,  who 
desired  nothing  better  than  an  opportunity  of  returning  to 
Chalons. 

Half  an  hour  later  Romeuf  arrived  at  Chaintrix,  and  he  too 
informed  himself  of  all  that  had  taken  place  there.  Having  now 
recovered  from  Bayon  the  two  hours  that  the  latter  had  lost, 
and  deeming  it  therefore  possible  to  overtake  him,  Romeuf 
did  not  linger  at  Chaintrix,  but  merely  obtained  a  fresh 
horse  and  sped  as  fast  as  it  could  carry  him  along  the 
road. 

We  say  *'  overtake ""  rather  than  "  outstrip,"  because  it  was 
only  reluctantly  and  as  a  martyr  to  military  discipline  that 
Romeuf  had  undertaken  this  mission  that  he  was  carrying  out 
with  so  much  apparent  zeal  and,  if  he  is  to  be  believed,  with 
so  much  secret  repugnance.  He  posted  at  full  speed  and  gave 
himself  not  a  moment  of  rest  because  it  was  his  duty,  but  he 
earnestly  hoped  that  he  would  not  succeed.  Intensely  loyal, 
and  living  almost  constantly  in  the  Tuileries,  where  he  was 
tied  by  his  duty,  he  had  more  than  once,  by  his  tact  and 
general  bearing,  attracted  the  attention  of  Marie  Antoinette ; 
and,  like  many  of  those  who  saw  the  Queen  in  private  life,  he 
was  devoted  to  her  with  a  sort  of  chivalrous  homage,  though 
pitiless  circumstances  obliged  him  on  this  occasion  to  act 
towards  her  as  ai\  enemy.  Thus,  while  Bayon  was  struggling 
to  reach  the  royal  family  with  the  object  of  detaining  them, 
Romeuf  on  the  other  hand  was  trying  to  catch  Bayon  with 
the  object  of  hindering  him  in  the  pursuit.  This  is  one  of 
the  most  peculiar  aspects  of  this  amazing  chase.^ 

^  Baton's  Narrative. 

2  **  1  must  not  omit  to  say  that  during  that  painful  night,  when  we  were 
expecting  death  at  any  moment,  and  had  no  secrets  from  one  another,  the 
true  and  honourable  sentiments  of  that  brave  young  man  (Romeuf)  were 
revealed  to  us  ;  his  distress  at  the  mission  that  he  was  entrusted  with 
against  his  will,  his  scheme  of  delaying  his  arrival  if  he  had  not  met  M. 
]^yon  on  the  road,  and  his  willingness,  if  that  officer  had  not  put  obstacles 
in  his  way,  to  help  us  in  putting  ofiF  the  King's  return.  ...  It  was  impos- 
sible, in  the  face  of  what  he  said,  to  harbour  the  least  doubt  of  his  real 
attachment  to  the  King  and  Queen  ;  the  bare  thought  of  being  suspected 
by  her  of  having  voluntarily  a,ccepted  this  fatal  mission  filled  him  with 
despair." — Choiseul's  Narrative. 

*•  M.  de  Romeuf  appeared  to  be  greatly  distressed.  His  behaviour  when 
be  was  with  us,  and  his  conversation  after  that  fatal  moment,  gave  me 

1^ 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

The  berline  had  entered  Chalons  before  half-past  four  in  the 
afternoon,  having  been  driven  from  Chaintrix  by  Gabriel 
Vallet,  who,  on  arriving  at  the  posting-house  in  the  Rue  Saint- 
Jacques,  had  certainly  not  abstained  from  revealing  the  rank 
of  the  travellers  to  Viet,  the  postmaster.  Pere  Viet,  assiduous 
and  anxious  to  please,  had  so  successfully  hastened  the  busi- 
ness of  changing  horses  that  the  carriage  had  driven  off  ten 
minutes  later.  In  spite  of  the  excitement  among  the  staring 
idlers  round  the  posting-house,  a  type  of  excitement  so  un- 
mistakable that  the  royal  family  saw  "  they  were  perfectly 
well  recognised,""  ^  Viet  had  not  betrayed  his  knowledge.  So 
at  least  one  is  obliged  to  believe.  But  two  hours  later  Jean 
de  Lagny's  son,  Bayon's  emissary  from  Chaintrix,  arrived  at 
his  door  with  information  that  could  not  be  ignored — the 
official  notice  of  the  King's  flight,  and  the  order  to  detain  the 
suspected  berline  or  to  give  chase  at  full  speed  if  it  had  gone 
on.  It  is  not  known  how  Viet  received  this  communication. 
He  never  alluded  to  the  visit  of  de  Lagny''s  son.  This  is  the 
mysterious  moment,  and  possibly  the  decisive  moment,  of  the 
pursuit.  All  that  we  know  for  certain  is  that  immediately  on  the 

reason  to  think  that  he  had  been  drawn  on  by  his  travelling  companion, 
that  he  was  fulfilling  this  mission  with  repugnance,  and  that  he  would 
have  wished  to  find  that  the  royal  family  had  gone  too  far  to  be  over- 
taken."— Damas'  Narrative. 

Jean  Louis  Romeuf  came  of  an  excellent  bourgeois  family  in  the  Haute- 
Loire.  He  was  born  at  La  Voiite  on  the  26th  September,  1766 ;  was  an 
aide-de-camp  in  the  Parisian  National  Guard,  September  1st,  1789 ;  a 
captain  in  the  12th  Dragoons,  September  15th,  1791.  Being  a  prisoner  of 
war  (with  Lafayette)  and  afterwards  on  active  service  in  Egypt,  and 
blockaded  in  Malta  in  1798,  he  only  returned  to  France  in  1799.  He  was 
a  major  in  1800,  became  aide-de-damp  to  General  Mathieu  Dumas,  was 
brigadier-general  in  1811,  chief  of  the  staff  of  the  1st  Corps  of  the  Grand 
Army  on  the  5th  February,  1812,  and  was  killed  at  Moscow.  He  was 
created  a  Baron  of  the  Empire  August  15th,  1809.  His  name  is  inscribed  on 
the  Arc  de  Triomphe  de  I'Moile. 

Romeuf  was  chivalrous  to  the  end  of  his  days.  In  1811  he  was  on  the 
point  of  contracting  a  rich  marriage  with  a  young  lady  at  Vienna  called 
Charlotte  de  Traunvisser  ;  the  Emperor  and  the  Minister  for  War  were  to 
sign  the  marriage  contract,  when  he  asked  leave  to  take  part  in  the  Russian 
campaign.  "  There  would  seem  to  me,"  he  wrote  to  the  Minister,  almost 
as  though  he  had  a  presentiment,  "  a  want  of  consideration  in  binding  this 
young  lady  to  my  lot  till  I  have  escaped  from  the  hazards  of  this  war."  He 
did  not  escape,  and  died  unmarried.  Napoleon,  by  a  decree  actually  signed 
in  Moscow,  transferred  the  title  of  Baron  with  the  income  attached  to  it 
to  the  eldest  of  Romeuf 's  nephews,  then  aged  fifteen. — Archives  of  the  War 
Office. 

^  Madsi,me  Royale's  Narrative. 

186 


THE   PURSUIT 

arrival  of  young  de  Lagny  at  the  posting-house  at  Chalons,  a 
courier  was  despatched  from  that  town,  in  accordance  with 
Bayon''s  instructions,  to  spread  the  news  of  the  King'^s  flight. 
This  courier  must  have  reached  Pont-de-Somme-Vesle  at  half- 
past  seven  and  Sainte-Menehould  at  nine,  almost  at  the  same 
time  as  the  berline.  Is  it  possible  that  Viet  dared  to  take  it 
upon  himself  to  confiscate  the  order  ?  ^  To  say  that  he  did  so 
would  be  too  bold,  but  a  mathematical  calculation  is  forced 
upon  us.  Bay  on,  who  had  been  travelling  since  midday  at 
the  rate  of  six  leagues  an  hour,  must  inevitably — he  himself 
or  his  substitutes  travelling  at  the  same  pace  ^ — have  over- 
taken the  royal  carriage  at  nine  o'clock  at  the  end  of  fifty 
leagues,  seeing  that  the  latter  left  Paris  ten  hours  before  him, 
but  was  barely  covering  three  leagues  an  hour.  Now  jifly 
leof^ies  is  the  distance  to  Sainte-Menehould,  and  it  was  at 
Sainte-Menehould  at  nine  o'clock  that  Drouet,  who  did  not 
say  a  word  on  seeing  the  travellers,  Drouet — so  unsuspicious 
a  little  time  before  that  he  did  not  even  demand  their  pass- 
port, although  he  had  a  right  to  insist  on  examining  it — 
stormed,  and  swore  that "  it  was  the  King,""  and  that  no  time 
must  be  lost  in  ringing  the  tocsin  and  beating  the  call  to  arms. 
This  alone  proves  that  the  sudden  inspiration  which  he 
declared,  later  on,  had  seized  him  on  seeing  the  King's  profile 
beneath  the  blind  was  merely  empty  bragging  on  his  part. 
The  truth  is,  that  an  hour  after  the  passing  of  the  berline  the 
news  that  left  Chalons  at  about  seven  o'clock  became  known 
at  Sainte-Menehould  in  a  normal  way,  immediately  after  the 
arrival  of  Bayon's  messenger.  Who,  then,  brought  it  ?  It  is 
not  known  for  certain,  but  there  can  be  no  doubt  in  the  face 
of  the  unanimity  of  evidence.  Bayon  says  :  "  I  sent  a  courier 
on  before  me,  and  he  was  the  first  to  take  the  news  to  Sainte- 

^  There  can  be  no  doubt,  moreover,  that  if  de  Lagny's  son,  on  arriving 
at  Chalons  as  Bayon's  delegate  from  Chaintrix,  had  gone  to  the  municipal 
officers  instead  of  to  the  posting-house,  the  former  would  have  at  once 
despatched  a  courier  to  spread  the  news  farther. 

■^  It  is  important  to  remember  that  between  Paris  and  Chaintrix  Bayon 
had  travelled  at  the  rate  of  a  league  in  ten  minutes,  or  six  leagues  an  hour. 
It  is  probable  that  his  substitute,  de  Lagny's  son,  kept  up  the  same  pace, 
and  that  therefore,  leaving  Chaintrix  a  quarter  of  an  hour  after  Bayon's 
arrival,  that  is  to  say,  at  half  past  five  at  latest,  he  was  easily  able  to  travel 
the  five  leagues  to  Chalons  in  one  hour. 

1^7 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

Menehould  and  to  arouse  the  patriotic  zeal  of  Drouet.''''^ 
Romeuf  declares :  "  The  postmaster  of  Chalons  gave  notice 
to  the  postmaster  at  Sainte-Menehould."  ^  George,  the  deputy 
and  Mayor  of  Varennes,  goes  further :  "  Drouet  embroidered 
his  tale  very  much,  though  in  so  serious  an  affair  it  was  not 
easy.""  ^  Drouet  himself  confessed  later  "  that  it  was  the  post- 
master *  of  Chalons  who  had  come  to  tell  him."  ^  This  eluci- 
dation, of  course,  changes  none  of  the  facts,  but  it  throws  a 
peculiar  light  on  the  somewhat  dubious  figure  of  Drouet, 
who  wrung  fame  for  himself  out  of  this  adventure,  while 
another  man,  caring  little  for  such  a  form  of  renown,  was 
glad  to  be  relieved  of  the  responsibility. 

The  fact  that  the  royal  family  had  passed  through  the 
town,  then,  although  known  to  Viet  by  five  o''clock  and 
confirmed  at  half  past  six,  was  only  laid  officially  before  the 
municipality  of  Chalons  when  Bayon  arrived,  four  hours 
later.  Those,  however,  who  had  been  standing  by  when  the 
horses  of  the  berline  were  changed  had  by  no  means  hidden 
their  suspicions.  The  Mayor  himself,  M.  Chorez,  informed,  it 
is  said,  by  "  a  man  in  the  town,"  and  at  first  resolved  to  be 
silent,  but  afterwards, "  alarmed  by  the  situation,"  had  decided 
to  summon  the  corporation. 

It  was  nine  o'clock  and  nearly  dark  when  the  chaise 
containing  Bayon,  with  the  chemist  Theveny  and  the  prisoner 
de  Briges,  crossed  the  bridges,  followed  the  Rue  de  Marne  as 
far  as  the  square,  and  drew  up  before  the  imposing  entrance 
of  the  town  hall.  Bayon  was  received  by  armed  national 
guards,  to  whom  he  introduced  himself ;  and  then,  leaving  de 
Briges  in  their  hands,  he  went  up  to  the  council-room,  where 
the  municipal  officers  were  assembled.  He  immediately 
produced  his  instructions,  and  at  the  same  moment  the  tocsin 

1  The  Sieur  Bayon's  petition  to  the  National  Assembly. 

2  Parliamentary  Archives.  Sitting  of  June  24th,  1791.  The  postmaster 
of  Chalons  did  not  warn  Drouet  in  person,  since  Viet  only  arrived  at 
Sainte-M^nehould  at  midnight,  at  the  moment  when  Drouet  was  stopping 
the  royal  berline  at  Varennes. 

3  National  Archives,  D.  XXIXb,  37. 

*  We  repeat :  it  may  have  been  some  one  from  the  posting-hotise,  but  it 
was  not  the  postmaster  himself. 
^  Le  Comte  de  Fersen  et  la  Cour  de  France^  II. ,  p.  94. 

128 


f^:: 


THK   TOWN    HAIX   AT  CHALONS-SUR-MARNE. 


THE   UPPER   TOWN    OF   VARENNES,    SEEN   FRO»I   THE   PONT   DE    L  AIRE. 


THE  PURSUIT 

began  to  ring  from  the  church  of  St.  Alpin.  While  the 
townspeople  gathered  in  the  streets  the  corporation  decided 
to  despatch  an  express  messenger  instantly  along  the  Sainte- 
Menehould  road,  with  an  authorised  copy  of  Bayon's  warrant, 
for  the  latter  declined  to  go  farther  without  a  rest  of  some 
hours.  A  messenger  summoned  Viet  from  the  posting-house. 
What  had  he  seen  ?  What  had  occurred  when  the  horses 
were  changed  ?  The  postmaster,  to  save  himself  from 
questions  of  a  too  definite  nature,  exhibited  the  greatest  zeal. 
He  offered  to  carry  the  news  himself  to  Sainte-Menehould, 
and  was  loudly  applauded.  A  copy  was  quickly  made  of  the 
document  dictated  by  Lafayette.  Bayon  certified  below  that, 
"  being  too  much  fatigued  to  have  any  hope  of  overtaking  the 
fugitives,  he  remitted  his  message  to  the  bearer.'''  The 
chemist  Theveny  bore  witness  in  two  lines  ^  to  the  reality  of 
the  mission  and  to  the  part— a  modest  one — that  he  had 
played  in  it.  The  Mayor  signed  it,  Roze  the  attorney 
countersigned  it,  and  Viet,  placing  the  precious  paper  safely 
in  his  pocket,  left  the  town  hall  amid  the  shouts  of  the  crowd, 
ran  to  his  own  house,  sprang  upon  a  horse,  and  dashed  in  his 
turn  along  the  road  to  Sainte-Menehould.  It  was  half  past 
nine. 

After  he  had  gone  the  corporation  continued  to  sit  en 
permanence,  while  nearly  the  whole  population  of  Chalons 
gathered  in  the  Place  de  Ville  and  the  surrounding  streets. 
As  far  as  the  end  of  the  Rue  Saint-Jacques  there  was  a  per- 
petual stream  of  people  passing  to  and  fro  between  the  town 
hall  and  the  posting-house,  seeking  for  news.  As  it  was 
drawing  near  ten  o'  clock  a  clamour  arose :  a  horseman  escorted 
by  a  postillion  forced  his  way  through  the  crowd.  "  Room 
for  the  emissary  of  the  Assembly  !  ^  For  this  was  Romeuf 
arriving  from  Paris,  which  he  had  left  at  one  o"'  clock.  He 
was  followed  by  two  other  couriers — two  of  those  who  in  the 
morning  had  taken  possession  in  the  Carrousel  of  copies  of 
Lafayette's  order,  and  had  started  off  at  random.  The 
records  give  the  name  of  one  of  these  men  :  Berthe  Gibert. 

^  Two  rather  obscure  lines,  thus  erpressed  :  **  I  ce*  oify  that  I  have  seen 
the  credentials  of  M.  Bayon,  and  I  undertook  to  accompany  the  person 
that  we  have  brought  here.  Signed  :  Theveny,  chemist,  residing  at 
Ch^ons." 

129  K 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

The  other  was  certainly  Roche,  a  sapper  in  the  National 
Guard,  whose  course  we  are  able  to  trace  at  certain  stages  of 
the  road.^ 

Romeuf  was  taken  before  the  Council,  but  the  moment 
that  the  order  had  been  read  he  expressed  a  desire  to  proceed 
on  his  journey.  Bay  on,  though  he  felt  that  the  prize  in  this 
race  was  being  snatched  from  him,  and  that  thenceforward  he 
would  play  but  an  inferior  role  beside  the  emissary  of  the 
Assembly,  would  not  own  himself  beaten.  He  begged  and 
was  granted  the  honour  of  accompanying  Romeuf,  who  for 
his  part  was  extremely  anxious  to  calm  the  zeal  of  his  partner, 
and  was  silently  hoping  that  something  might  interfere  with 
the  accomplishment  of  his  mission.  A  cabriolet  was  brought, 
and  amid  the  cheers  of  the  crowd  the  two  men  stepped  into 
it,  while  a  passage  was  cleared  for  them  by  the  National 
Guard.  It  was  after  ten  o'clock  when  their  carriage  passed 
the  gate  of  Saint-Jacques  and  rolled  swiftly  away  on  the 
road  to  Metz.  This  road,  which  was  level  and  almost  bare 
of  villages  throughout  the  ten  leagues  that  they  had  to 
cover,  presented  its  usual  deserted  and  quiet  appearance  ;  and 
except  at  the  two  isolated  posting-houses  of  Pont-de-Somme- 
Vesle  and  d'Orbeval,  where  the  news  had  been  spread  by  the 
successive  couriers  as  they  passed,  no  one  dreamt  that  the 
cabriolet  that  rolled  past  with  its  lanterns  shining  in  the 
moonless  darkness  was  bearing  with  it  the  fate  of  the 
monarchy.  For  indeed  these  two  men  must  have  been  filled 
with  overpowering  emotion  as  they  drove  headlong  towards 
a  tragedy — inevitable,  if  as  yet  undefined — in  which  the  plot 
was  concerned  with  the  fate  of  the  world  and  the  final 
catastrophe  was  to  be  decided  by  themselves.  Towards 
midnight  a  great  glare  of  light  appeared  in  the  distance,  like 
a  colossal  conflagration,  casting  over  a  section  of  the  dark  sky  a 
lurid  glow,  against  which  the  clusters  of  trees  by  the  roadside 
were  outlined  gloomily.  They  passed  a  circular  space  on  the 
road,  surrounded  by  elms,  where  several  roads  met;  then 
they  descended  a  hill,  and  suddenly  heard  a  cry  of  "  Halt !  " 

^  "  June  21st,  two  horses  supplied  by  Petit,  postmaster  at  Meaux,  to  a 
sapper  from  Paris,  bearing  an  order  from  M.  Lafayette.". 

' '  Two  horses  supplied  to  M.  Roch6,  sapper  from  Saint-Lazare,  bearing 
orders  both  going  and  returning,  by  Fr^min,  postmaster  at  Bondy. " 

130 


THE   PURSUIT 

The  carriage  was  surrounded  with  torches  and  armed  men  : 
this  was  Sainte-Menehould. 

The  town  had  been  in  a  state  of  fever  since  the  passing  of 
the  berline.  All  the  inhabitants  of  Sainte-Menehould, 
swarming  in  the  Place  Royale  in  front  of  the  town  hall,  had 
anxiously  watched  Drouet  starting  off  to  pui-sue  the  King,  on 
a  road  that  they  had  some  reason  to  believe  was  "  overrun  in 
every  direction  with  cavalry.*"  One  hour,  two  hours,  had 
passed  without  news.  Four  men  went  off  on  horseback 
to  reconnoitre,  but  the  sentries  at  the  Porte  des  Bois  took 
them  for  dragoons  :  a  volley  of  musketry  rang  out ;  one  man 
fell  dead,  another  was  wounded ;  whereupon  screams  and 
clamour,  brawling  and  confusion  followed,  and  the  whole 
town  was  seized  with  panic.  The  bourgeois  became  absolutely 
distracted,  and  rushed  to  their  houses  "  to  shut  themselves 
up  "  ;  but  the  more  resolute  sons  of  the  people  barred  the  way, 
and  forced  the  bourgeois  to  remain  in  the  square,  saying 
"  that  there  was  safety  only  in  numbers,  and  that  everyone 
must  share  the  danger,  if  there  were  any.^i  The  tocsin 
rang  continuously.^  An  order  was  given  to  every  housewife 
to  bake  bread  to  supply  the  needs  of  the  defenders  of  the 
town ;  at  the  cry  '*  Illuminations ! "  every  window  was  lit 
up  with  candles  and  pots  of  tallow  :  ^  in  front  of  the  town 
hall  a  great  bonfire  was  lighted  by  way  of  illumination ; 
and  thus  this  neurotic  populace — alarmed  or  excited  by  the 
smallest  incident — spent  the  hours  that  rolled  by  without 
a  word  of  news.  Nothing  happened  until  midnight,  and 
meantime  the  place  was  in  a  ferment  of  excitement,  expect- 
ation, extravagant  tales,  and  contradictory  disclosures.  From 
the  neighbouring  villages  there  poured  in  a  continuous 
stream  of  peasants,  who  announced  that  a  large  body  of 
cavalry  was  moving  about  the  country,  and  had  been  seen  at 
Neuville-au-Pont,  Auve,  and  Somme-Bionne.  As  it  was  not 
kno^vn  that  these  detachments,  observed  in  so  many 
directions,  consisted  really  of  about  fifty  men,  always  the 
same,  retiring  from  Pont-de-Somme-Vesle  towards  the  forest 

^  Burette,  Histoire  de  Sainte-Menehould. 

"^  G.  Fischbach,  La  Fuite  de  Louis  X  VI  d'apr^  lea  archives  de  Stras- 
bourg. 
3  Ibid. 

131  K  2 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

of  Argonne,  it  was  imagined  that  the  whole  army  of 
de  Bouille  was  investing  the  town  with  a  view  to  sacking  it.^ 
At  the  two  gates  of  the  Bois  and  the  Faubourg  Fleurion  the 
men  of  the  town  were  acting  as  sentinels.  The  placid  borough  of 
Sainte-Menehould  had  transformed  itself  at  a  moment's  notice 
into  a  garrison  town,  and  when  Viet  arrived  here  from  Chalons 
he  might  have  been  approaching  the  drawbridge  of  a  fortified 
city,  with  its  "  Who  goes  there  ?  ""  and  its  "  Advance  one  and 
give  the  countersign  1  "*' — challenges  that  could  not  be  dispensed 
with,  of  course,  so  near  midnight.  He  was  taken  to  the 
town  hall,  where  he  communicated  to  the  Council,  sitting 
en  permanence,  the  order  given  to  him  by  Bayon,  which  was 
read  aloud  by  the  Mayor,  Dupin.  A  discussion  followed. 
Who  would  face  the  risk  of  continuing  the  pursuit  ?  Drouet 
and  Guillaume  had  not  returned  as  it  was,  and  were  probably 
killed  or  taken  prisoner  by  the  horsemen  who  were  no  doubt 
swarming  in  the  forest.  Action  of  some  kind,  however,  was 
imperative.  But  what  could  be  done  ?  While  the  cor- 
poration was  hesitating,  an  uproar  arose  in  the  square, 
and  there  appeared,  slowly  making  its  way  through  the 
crowd  in  the  yellow  glare  of  the  illuminations,  the  dark 
form  of  a  cabriolet.  Instantly  the  reassuring  news  was 
spread  abroad  that  it  contained  the  emissaries  of  the  National 
Assembly. 

Romeuf  and  Bayon  had  arrived.  They  presented  them- 
selves before  the  Municipal  Council,  produced  their  creden- 
tials, demanded  to  have  their  passport  endorsed,  and  expressed 
a  desire  to  go  on  their  way  at  once.^  While  eager  patriots 
hurried  to  the  posting-house  to  fetch  fresh  horses,  the  two 
'  Parisians "  were  obtaining  all  the  available  information 
with  regard  to  the  progress  of  the  berline,  and  were  much 
surprised  at  the  lack  of  news.  Soon  the  crowd  saw  them  re- 
appear in  the  square  of  light  formed  by  the  doorway  of  the 
town  hall.  Cries  arose  of  "  Vive  la  nation!''''  "  Vive 
VAssemhUe!  "  They  saluted  the  crowd  and  entered  their 
carriage,  which  immediately  went  off  at  a  rapid  trot  along 
the  dark  road  that  approaches  Clermont  through  the  depths 
of  the  forest. 
1  Ofl&cial  Reports  of  the  Municipality  of  Sainte-M^nehould.        ^  /jj,^^ 

132 


THE    PURSUIT 

The  road  that  had  been  described  as  bristling  with  dangers, 
that  fatal  road  on  which  Drouet  and  Guillaume  had  dis- 
appeared, was  absolutely  quiet  and  deserted  as  the  cabriolet 
in  which  Romeuf  and  Bayon  sat  expecting  the  worst  slowly 
climbed  the  hills  of  Argonne.  At  half  past  two  in  the 
morning  they  passed  the  village  of  Les  Islettes  as  it  lay 
peacefully  sleeping.  It  was  the  hour  when  in  this  country  of 
wood  and  water  the  distant  sky  grows  pink  between  the 
slopes  of  the  hills,  while  the  wreathing  mists  trail  through 
the  still  shadowy  valley  of  Biesme.  At  three  o"'clock  the 
cabriolet  stopped  before  the  posting-house  of  Clermont  ^  in 
the  faint  light  of  dawn. 

Instantly  there  gathered  round  it  a  group  of  men — ^half  tipsy 
di-agoons,  interested  bourgeois,  anxious  peasants — all  greatly  ex- 
cited. A  man  came  up  to  the  door  of  the  carriage  and  intro- 
duced himself  to  the  travellers  as  a  member  of  the  local 
Directory,  whereupon  Romeuf  at  once  stated  his  name  and  the 
object  of  his  mission,  and  asked  for  information.  Clermont, 
it  appeared,  had  not  been  «isleep.  On  the  previous  evening, 
immediately  on  the  departure  of  the  berline — which  had 
aroused  all  the  more  suspicion  that  half  a  squadron  of 
dragoons  had  been  posted  at  Clermont  to  wait  for  it — the 
municipality  had  insisted  on  the  disarmament  of  the  soldiers. 
In  spite  of  a  lively  resistance  on  the  part  of  their  commanding 
officer.  Colonel  de  Damas,  the  troop  had  laid  down  their  arms, 
and  de  Damas  had  disappeared  with  some  non-commissioned 
officers.  The  local  authorities  had  lost  no  time  in  despatch- 
ing a  mounted  policeman  ^  to  Varennes,  to  warn  the  munici- 
pality of  the  approach  of  the  carriage  that  had  left  so  much 
excitement  behind  it.  Now,  this  mounted  policeman  had  just 
returned  at  full  speed  to  Clermont  ^  with  the  news  that  the 
people  of  Varennes  had  stopped  the  berline  and  detained  the 
travellers  as  prisoners.  "  Who  are  they  ? ""  "  It  is  not  known  : 
doubtless    they   are  personages  of  the  highest  conseqtience.'" 

^  Extract  from  the  minutes  of  the  Directory  of  the  district  of  Clermont. 
— Parliamentary  ArchiveSy  XXVII,  480. 

^  His  name  was  Leniau. — National  Archives,  D.  XXIXb,  37-386. 

^  He  had  performed  the  journey,  there  and  back,  in  less  than  an  hour 
and  a  half.  He  only  missed  arriving  at  Varennes  before  Drouet  by  a 
quarter  of  an  hour. — Parliamentary  Archives,  XXVII,  p.  481. 

133 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

*' Prisoners!  Where  is  Varennes?"  "Three  good  leagues 
away,  on  the  cross-road  to  Stenay."  Romeuf  asks  breath- 
lessly for  a  relay  of  horses,  and  they  are  brought  out  hastily. 
But  here,  galloping  at  headlong  speed  and  shouting  to  his 
horse,  there  comes  a  rider.  He  springs  to  the  ground ;  his 
horse  is  dragged  to  the  stable  and  falls  in  utter  exhaustion 
upon  the  straw.^  The  man  can  hardly  speak ;  he  looks  like  a 
madman,  but  is  nevertheless  recognised  for  Mangin,  the 
Varennes  surgeon.  He  tells  his  tale  haltingly,  struggling  for 
breath.  "  The  King,  the  Queen,  and  the  little  Dauphin  are 
at  Varennes.  The  populace  is  guarding  them,  but  the 
hussars — the  army  of  de  Bouille,  the  Royal  Germans — are 
there,  quite  close,  to  take  them  away.  They  are  all  going  to 
kill  each  other.  Everyone  must  hasten  to  the  spot.  As  for 
him,  he  is  on  his  way  to  Paris,  to  the  National  Assembly,  to 
beg  for  help,  to  ask  for  orders.''  And  he  is  in  the  saddle  and 
away,  disappearing  along  the  road  to  Chalons.  This  is  really 
bewildering ;  the  King,  the  Queen — at  Varennes !  It  was 
they,  then,  who  passed  through  here  yesterday  evening.  The 
people  shout  and  scream  to  each  other,  and  snatch  up  their 
weapons,  while  the  drum  beats,  and  Romeufs  carriage, 
supplied  with  horses  in  the  midst  of  all  the  commotion,  drives 
off  to  this  town  of  Varennes,  whose  name,  unknown  but 
yesterday,  is  destined  to  be  for  ever  famous,  a  familiar  word 
on  all  the  lips  of  France. 

The  cabriolet  of  the  emissaries  of  the  Assembly,  leaving  the 
Verdun  road  on  the  right,  rolled  on  its  way  between  the  un- 
dulating meadows.  In  the  soft  light  of  early  morning,  as 
far  as  the  eye  could  see,  on  every  road,  by  every  path,  were 
hurrying  streams  of  peasants,  all  flowing  towards  ^the  same 
point  of  the  horizon,  as  though  there  were  some  irresistible 
magnet  in  that  direction  drawing  them  all  to  itself.  In  the 
villages,  at  Neuvilly,  at  Boureuilles,  not  a  man  was  left :  on 
the  thresholds  of  the  open  doors  the  women  gathered,  and 
gazed  across  the  landscape  with  stupefied  eyes  and  heads  all 
turned  in  one  direction ;  while  from  the  distance,  from  that 

^  •*  I  do  not  know  if  my  poor  horse  is  alive  or  not  :  I  only  took  three- 
quarters  of  an  hour  to  reach  Clermont :  when  I  arrived  there  he  fell  down 
upon  the  straw."— Letter  from  Mangin  to  the  Municipality  of  Varennes. 
See  Fournel,  Um^nemerU  de  Varennes,  Appendix,  p.  331. 

1B4 


THE   PURSUIT 

far-away  region  that  seemed  so  fascinating,  there  arose  con- 
tinuously a  sonorous  sound,  composed  of  the  tocsins  of  all  the 
hamlets,  of  strident  drums  beating  the  alarm,  and  of  hoarse, 
indistinguishable  noises. 

The  carriage  overtook  group  after  group,  all  walking 
their  best,  while  Romeuf,  whose  dismay  was  now  complete, 
stared  at  them  gloomily,  and  Bay  on  rejoiced.  They  had 
passed  Petit  Boureuilles,  and  now  the  road  was  swarming 
with  men  carrying  scythes,  billhooks,  and  pitchforks — national 
guards  who  wore  no  uniform  but  blouses,  and  bore  no  arms 
but  the  tools  of  their  daily  work.  Suddenly  there  was  a  cry 
of  "  Halt !  ■"  The  cabriolet  stopped,  for  the  road  was 
blocked  by  pieces  of  wood.^  To  right  and  left  were  low 
houses,  and  behind  the  barricade  was  a  crowd.  This  was 
Varennes.  Romeuf  and  Bayon  alighted,  and  were  challenged 
by  the  officers  of  the  National  Guard.  Then  the  barricade 
of  wood  was  pushed  aside,  the  crowd  cried  "  Vive  VAssemhUe  /" 
and  the  two  Parisians  were  quickly  pushed  through  the  mob 
into  an  old  building  with  a  blackened  facade  that  stood  by 
the  roadside.  It  was  the  town  hall.  Upstairs  they  found 
all  the  local  authorities,^  who  appeared  much  harassed :  the 
general  council  of  the  commune,  the  members  of  the 
Tribunal,  the  magistrate  and  registrar,  the  captain,  quarter- 
mfister,  and  ensign  of  the  National  Guard.  All  these  men 
had  been  arguing  since  the  recognition  of  the  imprisoned 
King  in  the  Maison  Sauce,  without  coming  to  any  under- 
standing. Were  the  fugitives  to  be  allowed  to  continue 
their  journey  towards  the  frontier  ?  Should  they  be  taken 
back  to  Chalons  ?  The  army  of  de  Bouille  was  advancing, 
and  the  scouts  had  already  appeared  above  the  vineyards  of 
Chepy.     Varennes  contained  at  that  moment  ten  thousand 

^  **  I  observed  the  movements  of  the  national  guards,  who  .  .  .  were 
making  a  rampart  of  trees  to  block  the  roads  with." — Choiseul's  Narra- 
tive. 

"This  barricade  was  placed  at  the  spot  where  the  road  forks  as  it 
leaves  Varennes,  going  towards  the  wood  to  the  right,  and  towards 
Clermont  to  the  left." — Loui8  XVI ^  le  Marquis  de  BouiM,  et  VarenneSy  by 
the  Abb6  Gabriel. 

2  "  We  went  to  explain  to  the  municipality  the  object  of  our  journey." 
— Romeuf 'a  Report  to  the  Assembly,  Parliamentary  ArchtveSf  XXVII, 
p.  478. 

135 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

men,  who  had  gathered  there  during  the  night  from  all  pai-ts 
of  the  country.  To  keep  the  King  was  to  expose  the  town 
to  an  attack  which  would  probably  result  in  terrible  disaster. 
The  appearance  of  the  Parisians  on  the  scene,  then,  was  an 
imspeakable  relief  to  the  humble  bourgeois  of  Varennes,  who 
were  crushed  by  their  alarming  responsibility.  Romeufs 
credentials  were  examined  in  a  moment,  and  it  was  decided 
to  inform  the  King  at  once  of  "  the  desire  of  the  whole  of 
France.""  This  task  was  coveted  by  no  one,  but  time  was 
passing,  and  it  must  be  carried  out.  A  kind  of  procession 
was  formed,  and,  descending  the  steps  of  the  town  hall, 
marched  down  the  sloping  street  that  crosses  the  town  from 
end  to  end.^ 

Between  the  double  line  of  national  guards — a  line  much 
broken  by  the  crowd,  and,  in  spite  of  all  efforts,  waving  in 
zigzags  from  the  upper  end  of  the  town  to  the  house  that 
sheltered  the  royal  family — marched  the  procureur-syndk 
Sauce,  his  face  drawn  and  pale,  his  eyes  staring  and  almost 
wild,  his  whole  air  that  of  a  man  dazed  and  stupefied. 
Behind  him  walked  Romeuf  and  Bayon,  in  the  smart  uniform 
of  the  Parisian  Guard :  blue  tunic,  with  dark  red  plastron, 
and  silver  fringe  upon  the  shoulders  ;  both  of  them,  however, 
covered  with  dust.  Romeuf  was  grave  and  sad ;  Bayon  much 
excited  and  talking  incessantly,  his  face  flushed,  his  dress  dis- 
ordered, his  collar  gaping.^  After  them,  grouped  together 
without  regard  for  precedence,  came  the  municipal  officers 
Pultier,  Person,  Florentin,  Judge  Destez,  Cadet  the  com- 
manding officer  of  the  artillery,  Hannonet  the  magistrate, 
Guilbert,  Bourlois,  and  Coquillard,  members  of  the  council 
of  the  commune,  and  others.  Every  head  was  uncovered, 
every  heart  was  shaken  with  acute  agitation,  every  nerve  was 
unstrung  with  emotion.  These  sensations  were  common  to 
them  all ;  one  may  see  the  traces  of  them  in  all  the  Narratives. 

Half-way  down  the  hill  they  skirted  the  church  of 
St.  Pierre  and  St.  Gengoult  on  the  right,  and  passed  under 

^  Ofl&cial  Report  of  the  Municipality  of  Varennes. 

^  **  The  fatigue  and  excitement  of  the  journey  had  increased  the  grim- 
ness  of  his  naturally  sombre  face  ;  his  coat  was  loose  at  the  neck  ;  his 
appearance  and  speech  betrayed  the  most  violent  agitation." — Choiseul's 
Narrative. 

1S6 


THE   PURSUIT 

the  schoolhouse,  a  long  building  that  stood  at  right  angles 
to  the  church  and  cut  the  street  in  two.  The  covered 
passage  that  led  through  it  was  called  the  Archway,  and 
served  as  a  shelter  on  market-days  for  travelling  tinkers.  It 
was  at  the  mouth  of  this  arcade  that  the  royal  carriage  had 
been  stopped.  Just  beyond  it,  on  the  right,  was  the  inn  of 
the  Bras  (TOr,  to  which  the  travellers  had  at  first  been 
taken,  and  facing  it,  drawn  up  by  the  wall  of  a  cemetery  in  the 
narrow  winding  Rue  de  THorloge,  the  berline  lay  stranded, 
with  its  pole  on  the  ground  and  its  great  dome  of  luggage 
towering  on  the  roof.^  A  little  farther  down,  on  the  left, 
was  Sauce's  grocery  shop,  which  had  been  the  shelter  of  the 
royal  family  since  midnight.  Before  the  door  was  a  confused 
and  huddled  throng ;  among  this  unwieldy  crowd  were  a  few 
hussars  on  their  exhausted  horses ;  on  the  threshold  of  the 
house  towards  which  all  heads  were  turned  two  dragoons 
stood  on  guard.  The  wooden  frontage  was  narrow  ;  on  the 
ground-floor  two  windows  acted  as  a  shop-front,  exhibiting 
packets  of  candles  and  pots  of  brown  sugar ;  the  door  was 
horizontally  divided  into  two  parts,  the  lower  serving  as 
a  barrier;  on  the  first  story  there  were  two  more  windows, 
with  closed  sashes.*  It  was  half  past  six  in  the  morning,  and 
the  sun,  already  high  in  the  sky,  gave  promise  of  a  hot  day. 
Sauce  was  the  first  to  enter,  guiding  Romeuf  and  Bayon 
through  the  shop,  which  was  as  full  of  people  as  the  street 
below — of  peasants,  friends  or  relations  of  the  Sauce  family, 
or   neighbours  who  had  run  in  "to  help.*"     The  staircase 

*  •*  As  I  passed  I  recognised  the  berline  standing  in  a  somewhat  narrow 
street,  whither  it  had  been  taken." — Choiseul's  Narrative. 

^  •*  Sauce's  house  consists,  says  a  certain  document,  of  a  simple  building 
facing  the  street,  comprising  a  shop,  a  kitchen,  and  a  cellar  below,  rooms 
on  the  first  story,  and  attics  above,  roofed  with  tiles.  The  first  story  was 
reached  from  the  ground-floor  by  a  dark  winding  staircase  of  wood,  with  a 
thick  rope,  worn  and  dirty,  by  way  of  a  handrail.  The  two  rooms  of  the 
first  story  were  separated  by  a  kind  of  dark  passage.  In  1845,  the  Rue  de 
la  Basse  Cour  being  enlarged,  the  Maison  Sauce  lost  its  frontage  :  only 
the  back  of  the  house  remains  intact." — M&moires  du  0&n6ral  Radety  by  A. 
Combier.     Piices  JuatificcUiveSy  No.  19. 

**It  was  necessary  to  pass  through  the  shop  to  get  into  the  house  .  .  . 
the  narrow  dark  stairs  were  at  the  back  of  the  shop,  between  the  wall  on 
the  left  and  the  door  of  the  kitchen." — V.  Foumel,  L' ^h^nement  de 
Varennes. 

Fournel  and  Combier  came  from  Varennes,  and  knew  the  Maison  Sauce 
before  the  alterations  of  1845. 

137 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

was  at  the  back,  in  the  left  hand  corner,  and  up  these  dark 
and  narrow  wooden  steps  the  procession  filed.  Even  in  the 
front  room  of  the  first  story  the  people  had  gathered,  but 
these  were  silent  as  they  tried,  through  the  open  door,  to 
catch  sight  of  the  royal  family,  who  were  crowded  into  the 
narrow  back  room.  The  doorway  was  guarded  by  two 
peasants  armed  with  pitchforks,  Druard  the  blacksmith,  and 
a  labourer  called  Blandin. 


ROOM   IN   sauce's  HOUSE  WHERE  THE  ROYAL  FAMILY  SPENT  THE  NIGHT. 

A  table,  on  which  were  some  bread  and  several  glasses, 
stood  in  the  middle  of  this  room.  The  Dauphin  and  his 
sister  were  asleep  on  a  bed,  while  Madame  de  Tourzel  sat 
beside  them,  leaning  her  forehead  upon  her  hands.  Near  her 
were  the  women-of-the-bedchamber,  Madame  Brunier  and 
Madame  Neuvill§,  and  before  one  of  the  windows  stood  the 
impassive  figure  of  Madame  Elizabeth.  The  three  officers  of 
the  bodyguard  who  had  acted  as  couriers  were  at  the  back 
of  the  room,  in  their  yellow  livery.  The  King  and  Queen 
were  talking  to  two  officers,  Choiseul  and  Damas,  who  wore 
green  tunics  with  crimson  facings.^  Sauce  stepped  timidly 
into  the  room. 

^  Regulations  of  1786. 

138 


THE   PURSUIT 

"Sire!^ 

Choiseul  has  described  the  scene,  and  we  need  add  nothing 
to  his  story. 

Romeuf,  as  he  crossed  the  front  room  and  approached  the 
Queen,  whom  he  saw  daily  at  the  Tuileries,  paused  suddenly  and 
turned  away,  overcome  with  emotion.  Bay  on  entered  alone 
sturdily,  though  his  fatigue  and  agitation  were  half  choking 
him. 

"Sire,  you  know — "^  he  stammered — "all  the  people  of 
Paris  are  at  each  other's  throats — our  wives — our  children 
have  perhaps  been  massacred.  You  will  not  go  any  farther — 
Sire — the  interests  of  the  State — yes,  Sire,  our  wives,  our 
children — *" 

The  Queen  took  his  hand  with  an  imperious  gesture,  and 
pointed  him  to  the  still  sleeping  Dauphin  and  his  sister. 
"  And  I,  am  not  I  also  a  mother  ? ""  she  said. 
"Well,   what   is   it  you   want?"   the    King    asked   im- 
patiently. 

"  Sire,  a  decree  of  the  Assembly "" 

"Where  is  it.?'' 

"  My  companion  has  it "" 

He  opened  the  door  and  disclosed  Romeuf,  leaning  against 
the  window  of  the  other  room  and  shaken  with  sobs.  He  held 
a  paper  in  his  hand,  which  he  presented  with  bent  head.  The 
Queen  recognised  him. 

"What,  Monsieur,  it  is  you!  Ah,  I  should  not  have 
believed  it!" 

The  King  snatched  the  decree  roughly  from  him,  and 
read. 

"  There  is  no  longer  a  King  in  France,"  he  said. 
He  gave  it  to  the  Queen,  who  also  read  it,  and  returned  it 
to  him.     Then  he  read  it  again,  and  absently  placed  it  on 
the  bed. 

The  Queen  impulsively  seized  the  paper  and  flung  it  on  the 
floor. 

"  I  will  not  have  my  children  defiled,"  she  said ;  and  the 
group  of  municipal  authorities  and  magistrates,  who  from  the 
threshold  of  the  room  were  mutely  and  anxiously  watching 
this  scene  of  downfall  and  defeat,  burst  out  into  a  chorus  of 

139 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

angry  murmurs,  "as  though  she  had  profaned  the  most 
sacred  thing  in  the  world."  Choiseul,  hurrying  to  redeem 
this  sacrilege,  picked  up  the  decree  and  placed  it  on  the 
table. 

The  King  drew  Romeuf  and  Bayon  aside  and  spoke  to 
them  in  a  low  voice.  Everyone  else  drew  back,  even  Choiseul 
and  Damas  leaving  the  room,  the  doors  of  which  were  shut. 
Of  this  intimate  conference  nothing  ever  transpired  except 
that  Louis  XVI,  who  had  not  lost  all  hope  of  the  arrival  of 
de  Bouille's  troops,  implored  the  envoys  of  the  Assembly  to 
allow  him  to  gain  time.  "  Let  us  at  least  stay  here  till  eleven 
o'clock,"  he  entreated.  Romeuf  gave  in  at  once,  and  Bayon 
also;  but  the  latter  went  down  into  the  street  forthwith, 
exciting  the  rioters  and  feigning  to  be  uneasy.  "  They  will 
not  go  back ;  Bouille  is  coming,  and  they  are  waiting  for 
him."  Then  from  the  crowd,  who  well  knew  the  terrible 
conflict  that  would  result  from  the  onslaught  of  the  great 
butcher  and  his  uhlans,  there  burst  an  absolute  clamour  of 
indignant  protest.  "  They  must  go  !  They  must  be  forced 
to  go  !  We  will  drag  them  by  the  feet  to  the  carriage."  ^  The 
struggle  was  now  between  the  people  and  the  King.  The 
latter  appeared  at  the  window,  hoping  to  soften  the  hearts  of 
the  crowd ;  but  from  the  moving  mass  of  heads  that  filled 
the  street  from  the  Archway  to  the  bridge  there  arose  one 
unanimous  cry,  "  To  Paris  !  To  Paris ! "  And  in  the  face 
of  this  dangerous  excitement  the  municipal  body,  the  magis- 
trates, and  the  officers  of  the  National  Guard  implored  the 
King  to  yield  to  the  universal  desire.  "  Wait  a  moment,"  he 
moaned.  "  Is  it  impossible,  then,  to  wait  till  eleven  o'clock  ?  " 
"  Sire^  je  ne  rrCyJidmes — I  would  not  rely  upon  it,"  squeaked 
the  voice  of  an  ironical  old  peasant,  Pere  Geraudel,  in  his 

^  "  I  am  ready  to  prove  that  it  was  I  alone  who  determined  him  to  start, 
by  my  device  of  making  the  people  shout  '  He  must  go — we  want  him  to 
go  ! ' " — Brief  Report,  by  Bayon. 

•*  M.  Bayon  played  a  false  part :  he  appeared  to  be  touched  by  the  King's 
situation,  and  promised  to  use  every  effort  in  making  proper  arrangements 
for  the  start.  All  he  did,  however,  was  to  go  backwards  and  forwards,  up 
and  down  the  stairs,  all  the  time,  to  tell  the  people  that  the  King  refused 
to  go  and  was  inventing  a  thousand  excuses  in  order  to  give  de  Bouill^ 
time  to  arrive.  He  would  then  come  back  to  the  King  and  bemoan  the 
uproarious  demands  of  the  people,  who  were  insisting  noisily  on  the  King's 
departure. " — Choiseul's  Narrative. 

140 


THE   PURSUIT 

mocking  patois.  The  Queen  was  "  in  a  terrible  condition.*" 
She  heroically  stooped  even  to  implore  help  from  the  grocer's 
wife.  Madame  Sauce  answered,  as  she  went  to  and  fro  in  the 
room :  "  Jfow  Dieu,  Madame,  your  position  is  very  unfortunate, 
but  my  husband  is  responsible,  and  I  do  not  want  them  to 
pick  a  quarrel  with  him.''  And  she  placidly  busied  herself 
with  preparing  the  breakfast  and  collecting  provisions  for  the 
plenishing  of  the  lockers  in  the  carriage,  which  the  people  had 
dragged  to  the  door  and  made  ready  for  the  start.  When  the 
meal  was  on  the  table  the  King  sat  down  and  ate  a  little. 
Then  he  fell  asleep,  or  pretended  to  do  so  :  the  stratagem  won 
him  a  few  moments  of  delay,  but  could  not  be  much  pro- 
longed. He  was  hardly  awake,  however,  before  Madame 
Neuville  gained  another  respite  by  being  suddenly  seized  with 
an  attack  of  nerves  and  collapsing  upon  the  floor.  Marie 
Antoinette  declared  she  would  not  desert  her  attendant,  and 
some  men  belonging  to  the  place  ran  to  fetch  M.  Lombard, 
the  doctor,  who  examined  the  patient,  gave  her  a  soothing 
draught,  and  intimated  that  the  case  was  not  dauigerous.  The 
crowd  in  the  street  was  becoming  vociferous,  for  it  was  im- 
patient to  be  obeyed,  and,  moreover,  there  was  a  rumour  that 
de  Bouille's  advance-guard  was  in  the  wood  of  Montfaucon, 
and  the  general  irritation  was  increased  tenfold  by  terror. 
"  To  Paris  !  To  Paris ! ""  In  the  house  everyone  was  silent 
now :  each  looked  at  the  other,  wondering  if  to  3rield  were 
inevitable.  The  King  begged  for  a  moment,  for  one  moment 
only  of  respite,  for  a  few  minutes  alone  with  his  family.  No 
sooner  had  they  been  left  than  he  entreated  Sauce  to  do  him 
an  important  service  ;  to  go  to  the  carriage,  namely,  and 
from  a  secret  receptacle — a  contrivance  whose  position  in  the 
carriage  he  described  to  Sauce  as  he  gave  him  the  keys — to 
abstract  some  papers  that  he  wished  to  destroy.  As  Sauce 
hesitated  the  King  and  Queen  became  urgent,  explaining  to 
him  all  they  had  to  fear,  confiding  their  sufferings  to  him, 
declaring  that  "  if  they  had  not  left  Paris  they  would  have 
been  murdered  by  the  Orleans  party.  What  then  was  to 
become  of  them  ? "  There  were  tears  in  the  eyes  of  both. 
Sauce  allowed  himself  to  be  persuaded,  and  having  made  some 
excuse  for  entering  the  carriage,  he  soon  returned  with  the 

141 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

little  box.  The  King,  having  opened  it,  set  to  work  hastily 
with  the  princesses  and  the  rest  of  the  party  to  tear  the 
papers  into  the  most  minute  pieces  possible,  which  they  then 
heaped  upon  a  large  dish  and  tried  to  burn,  while  Sauce  stood 
on  guard  at  the  door.  Something  raised  an  alarm,  however, 
and  frightened  the  King,  whereupon  he  flung  dish  and  papers, 
whether  burnt  or  not,  through  the  open  window  into  the 
back  yard.  The  fragments  fluttered  as  far  as  the  lane  of 
La  Verade,  where  they  were  collected  by  many  people,  though 
no  one  ever  succeeded  in  deciphering  two  words  that  were  on 
them.^  It  was  now  half  past  seven  in  the  morning.  The 
berline  was  at  the  door,  and  the  three  officers  of  the  bodyguard 
were  already  sitting  impassively  on  the  box,  exposed  to  the 
invectives  of  the  crowd.  The  hussars,  abandoned  by  their 
officers,  were  passing  pitchers  of  wine  from  hand  to  hand,  and 
shouting  before  and  after  every  draught  "  Vive  la  Nation !^^ 
The  commandant  of  the  National  Guard  of  the  village  of 
Neuvilly,  Bigault  de  Signemont,  wearing  his  cross  of  St.  Louis, 
was  organising  the  procession  at  the  request  of  the  magistrates 
of  Varennes,  dispersing  the  crowd,  placing  his  men,  and  securing 
a  certain  degree  of  order. 

Meanwhile,  in  the  grocer''s  shop,  the  chief  feeling  aroused 
by  this  struggle  that  had  lasted  since  midnight  was  one  of 

1  "  The  King  begged  to  be  left  alone  with  his  family,  in  order  that  he 
might  destroy  the  papers  that  the  procureur  Sauce  had  gone  to  fetch 
secretly  at  his  request  from  a  hidden  compartment  in  the  carriage.  At 
the  very  moment  that  the  papers,  having  been  torn  into  little  scraps,  had 
been  heaped  up  and  were  beginning  to  burn  on  a  dish,  someone  knocked  at 
the  door  of  the  room,  in  spite  of  the  procureur  of  the  commune,  who  was 
keeping  watch  carefully.  .  .  .  The  royal  family,  in  their  agitation,  flung 
everything — the  dish  and  the  scraps  of  burnt  and  unbumt  paper  alike — 
through  the  window  into  the  yard.  Some  people,  either  from  curiosity  or 
malice,  gathered  up  some  of  the  fragments  of  paper  that  were  still  intact, 
but  they  could  not  succeed  in  making  any  document  out  of  them." — 
(Local  tradition.  La  V6rit6  sur  lafuite  de  Louis  XVI j  by  E.  A.  Ancelon, 
p.  114.) 

"  Sauce,  our  'procureur  of  the  commune,  came  to  tell  me  some  extra- 
ordinary things.  The  King  and  Queen  told  him,  with  tears  in  their  eyes, 
that  if  they  had  not  left  Paris  they  would  have  been  murdered  by  the 
Orl^ns  faction  ;  they  confided  endless  things  of  this  kind  to  him,  and 
burnt  in  his  house  an  enormous  mass  of  papers,  which  he  is  very  much 
annoyed  not  to  have  seized,  but  he  was  not  in  the  room  at  the  moment, 
having  gone  out  to  give  some  orders." — Letters  from  Madame  Destez  to 
her  mother.     National  Archives,  D.  XXIXb,  37-385. 

2  Report  of  M.  R^my,  non-commissioned  ofl&cer  of  dragoons. — Choiseul's 
Narrative.     Pi^ce  Justijicativey  No.  8. 

142 


THE   PURSUIT 

intense  weariness  :  no  one  apparently  gave  the  signal  for  the 
start,  but  all  felt  it  to  be  inevitable.  The  King,  always 
homely  rather  than  dignified,  showed  his  vexation  plainly  as 
he  led  the  way  downstairs ;  then  came  the  Queen,  trembling, 
on  the  arm  of  de  Choiseul;  then  Madame  Elizabeth,  with 


prefontaine's  housb  and  the  way  oxtt  of  varennes  by  the 
clermont  road. 


an  air  of  resignation,  accompanied  by  Damas;  last  of  all, 
Madame  de  Tourzel  and  the  children.  They  entered  the 
carriage ;  the  crowd  in  their  sudden  satisfaction  cried  "  Vive 
le  Roi!^  and  also  "  Vive  la  Nation!^  De  Choiseul  closed 
the  door. 

"  Do  not  leave  us,""  said  the  Queen  to  him,  leaning  through 
the  window,  but  at  that  instant  the  berline  began  to  move, 
and  behind  it  the  mob   rushed   forward  with   such  a  swirl 

143 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

that  Choiseul,  Damas,  and  even  Romeuf,  who  had  only  just 
mounted  his  horse,  were  overturned,  rolled  on  the  ground, 
and  dragged  along  till  they  were  lost  to  sight. 

The  narrowness  of  the  passage  under  the  Archway  created 
a  terrible  crush:  then  the  berline,  encircled  by  all  the 
municipal  authorities  of  Varennes,  with  Sauce  at  their  head, 
made  its  way  up  that  tragic  street  by  which  it  had  entered 
the  town  eight  hours  earlier.  Before  the  venerable  town  hall 
there  was  a  short  halt,  while  shouts  of  triumph  rose  from  the 
people  ;  then  the  procession  moved  on,  marching  so  slowly  that 
a  dragoon  opposite  the  Maison  Prefontaine  was  able  to  see 
the  Queen,  as  she  sat  far  back  in  the  carriage,  acknowledging 
his  salute  with  an  air  of  such  overwhelming  suffering  that  he 
declared  "  he  had  never  in  his  life  experienced  anything  like 
his  feeling  at  that  moment.''^  He  also  saw  the  King, 
"  making  a  gesture  that  showed  the  deepest  grief.""  Another 
witness  related  to  de  Bouille  "  the  most  appalling  details  of 
the  condition  in  which  he  had  seen  the  King,  the  Queen,  and 
their  suite,  with  the  exception  of  Madame  Elizabeth,  whose 
firmness  and  presence  of  mind  were  sustained  in  a  way  that 
deserved  admiration."  ^  There  are  records,  too,  in  sharp 
contrast  with  the  prostration  of  the  vanquished  party — of  the 
exultation,  the  shouts  of  joy,  and  the  songs  of  the  conquerors 
who  were  all  determined  to  escort  the  berline,  and  were 
setting  out  light-heartedly  for  Paris,  with  no  reason  but  their 
desire  not  to  lose  a  single  incident  in  the  events  that  were 
intoxicating  the  country  so  madly. 

There  was  not  one  of  those  peasants  of  Argonne  who  left 
their  cottages  that  day  to  prolong  this  prodigious  frolic, 
their  coats  on  their  shoulders,  sabots  on  their  feet,  and  joy 
in  their  hearts,  who  for  one  moment  dreamt  that  that 
morning  was  for  France  but  the  beginning  of  adventures,  or 
that  many  among  them  would  only  return  to  their  villages 
disillusioned  and  disappointed  and  aged,  after  having  trudged 
on  all  the  roads  of  Europe,  during  twenty-five  years  of 
danger  and  agony  and  battle. 

^  R^my's  Narrative. 

2  M^moires  of  Count  Louis  de  Bouill^. 

144 


CHAFfER  VI 


THE    EETURN 


As  far  as  Boureuilles — that  is  to  say,  for  the  distance  of  half 
a  league — the  march  was  practically  a  run,  so  strongly  did  the 
men  of  Varennes  feel  that  de  Bouille*s  soldiers  were  at  their 
heels.  Across  the  Aire  they  saw  the  glittering  helmets  of  the 
dragoons  swarming  over  the  hill  of  Chepy. 

Suddenly,  from  one  end  to  the  other  of  the  procession  that 
was  escorting  the  royal  carriage,  there  rang  out  a  cry  of 
terror,  "  Here  they  are ! ""  And  indeed  some  horsemen,  with 
an  officer  at  their  head,i  were  descending  the  slope  towards 
the  river,  which  they  were  trying  to  cross.  Some  of  them 
could  be  seen  vainly  urging  their  horses  into  the  water,  some 
seeking  for  a  ford,  some  winding  among  the  crops.  If  they 
had  thought  of  going  on  to  the  village  of  Boureuilles,  about 
a  hundred  yards  farther,  where  the  road  crosses  to  the  right 
side  of  the  river,  there  would  have  been  no  obstacle  between 
them  and  the  '*  patriots,"'  who  could  not  then  have  avoided 
the  meeting  they  feared  so  much.  The  latter  endured  half 
an  hour  of  horrible  apprehension  ;  they  saw  the  horsemen 
draw  together,  look  long  and  earnestly  at  the  marching 
peasants  in  the  distance,  and  finally  retire  towards  the 
main  body  of  the  troops,  near  a  hamlet  with  the  appropriate 
name  of  Ratantout.^ 

The  berline  was  escorted  by  six  thousand  men,^  of  whom 

*  It  was  de  Bouill^'s  son. — Second  Official  Report  of  Varennes, 

2  {Rater = to  fail,  to  miscarry.     II  rate  en  UnU^he  fails  in  everything. 

—Trans.) 
'  Second  Report  of  the  Muncipality  of  Varennes.     The  Report  of  the 

Directory  of  Clermont  to  the  Assembly  says  :  "  The  carriage  was  escorted 

145  L 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

more  than  two  hundred  were  mounted,  with  about  a  thousand 
women  and  children ;  and  the  trampling  of  so  many  feet 
raised  a  cloud  of  dust,  for  they  walked  quickly.  After  about 
an  hour's  march,  during  which  they  had  covered  more  than 
a  league  and  a  half,  the  head  of  the  column  halted,  having 
suddenly  encountered,  coming  out  of  the  village  of  Neuvilly, 
a  squadron  of  dragoons,  who  at  first  sight  had  inspired  them 
with  panic.  These  were,  however,  not  enemies,  but  reinforce- 
ments, being  those  soldiers  of  de  Damas'  detachment  who  had 
turned  refractory  on  the  previous  evening  at  Clermont. 

After  having  fraternised  and  caroused  all  night  with  the 
men  of  that  town,  they  had  chosen  as  their  leader  one  of 
their  non-commissioned  officers,  M.  de  Sournie,  and  they  were 
accompanying  the  National  Guard  and  the  council  of  the 
district  on  their  way  from  Clermont  to  meet  the  King. 

Devillay,^  the  president  of  the  district,  approached  the 
berline.  Through  the  open  window  he  saw  Louis  XVI,  grey 
with  dust  and  stifled  by  the  heat,  and  saluted  him  in  the 
name  of  the  Directory  of  Clermont.  The  Queen  and  her 
children  appeared  to  be  ill  and  worn  out  with  fatigue.^ 
Devillay  began  a  harangue  "  expressing  the  sentiments  of  the 
people  of  the  town  towards  their  Majesties,  and  the  alarm 
occasioned  by  the  bare  idea  of  their  departure."  The  King 
answered  simply,  "  It  was  not  my  intention  to  leave  France," 
and  leaned  back  in  the  carriage.  The  men  of  Clermont  fell 
into  position  next  to  the  corporation  of  Varennes,  and  with 
the  dragoons  as  a  rear-guard  they  proceeded  on  their  way. 

At  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  procession  reached  the 
first  houses  of  Clermont,  where,  the  news  of  the  King's 
return  having  spread  throughout  the  neighbourhood,  "  more 
than  six  thousand  men  "  thronged  the  only  street  of  the  town. 
The  dusty  berline  passed  through  at  a  foot's  pace,  while 
the  people,  every  one  of  whom  wished  to  see  all  there  was  to 
be  seen,  hustled  each  other  and  cheered,  and  shouted  "  Vive  la 
Nation!'' 

The   men    of    Varennes   received   an    ovation,   but   their 

by  more  than  six  thousand  men  of  the  National  Guard,  and  by  a  crowd  of 
people  of  all  ages  and  both  sexes." — Parliamentary  Archives^  XXVII,  482. 

^  Parliamentary  Archives,  Ist  Series,  XXVII,  480. 

2  l/ouia  XV I y  le  Marquis  de  BouilU,  etc.,  by  the  Abb6  Gabriel, 


THE   RETURN 

triumph  was  not  unmixed  with  consternation,  for  a  rumour 
was  being  spread  abroad  that  de  Bouille's  soldiers  had 
taken  possession  of  Varennes,  and  that  the  town  was  in 
flames. 

There  was  a  short  halt  at  the  town  hall.  Sauce  delivered 
over  to  his  colleague  of  Clermont  the  passport  that  had  been 
made  out  in  the  name  of  the  Baronne  de  KorfT,  and  used  by 
the  royal  family,  begging  him  to  see  that  the  document  was 
placed  in  the  hands  of  the  National  Assembly.  As  for  him, 
he  was  worn  out.  Moreover,  it  was  reported  that  Varennes 
was  being  pillaged.  He  had  left  his  wife  and  children  there ; 
he  was  in  a  great  hurry  to  go  home. 

And  he  was  seen,  solemn  as  always,  disappearing  along  the 
road  to  his  own  town,  with  several  members  of  the  Varennois 
corporation.  As  they  strode  along,  their  faces  were  sad,  for 
they  were  full  of  anxiety  with  regard  to  the  misfortunes  that 
awaited  them  in  their  own  homes,  and  perhaps,  at  the 
bottom  of  their  hearts,  of  fear  that  they  had  not  acted  for 
the  best.  They  had  delivered  the  King  into  the  hands  of 
the  revolutionaries :  this  had  been  made  plain  to  them  by 
the  brutal  gaiety  of  the  six  thousand  patriots  assembled  at 
Clermont,  and  by  that  insolent  cry,  "  Vive  la  Natian  !  "*"*  with 
which  the  ears  of  the  captives  were  so  persistently 
offended. 

And  now  the  council  of  the  district  of  Clermont,  in 
organising  the  royal  escort,  eliminated  from  it  all  non- 
commissioned officers,  as  being  unworthy  to  command  free 
dragoons.^  As  far  as  Sainte-Menehould,  therefore,  Signemont 
alone  was  to  lead  this  procession  of  undisciplined  peasants 
and  soldiers  intoxicated  with  insubordination.  It  is  said 
that  Madame  Elizabeth,  seeing  this  officer  prancing  about  on 
a  great  horse  he  had  succeeded  in  procuring,  pointed  to  the 
cross  of  St.  Louis  upon  his  coat,  and  said  to  the  King,  with 
an  expression  of  indignant  pity,  "  See,  mon  Jrere^  there  is 
a  man  to  whom  you  give  bread  !  "  ^ 

1  Letter  from  the  directors  of  the  Clermont  district  to  the  Directory  of 
the  department  of  the  Mame. — Louis  X  VI,  le  Marquis  de  BouilU,  etc.,  by 
the  Abb6  Gabriel,  p.  311. 

2  Information  collected  by  the  Abb^  Gabriel. — See  Louia  XVI,  le 
Marquis  de  BouilU,  etc.,  p.  306. 

147  L  2 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

They  started  off  again,  still  at  a  foot's  pace.  The  heat 
was  oppressive  and  the  road  was  hard.  At  every  turning,  at 
the  junction  of  every  little  path,  there  were  some  who  fell 
out  of  the  procession  on  the  plea  of  resting  in  the  shade,  some 
lingerers  who  wandered  into  the  wood  and  were  seen  no  more. 
By  way  of  compensation,  new  recruits  were  constantly 
arriving.^  The  roadway  was  lined  with  a  double  row  of 
peasants — men,  women,  and  children — who  were  drawn  along 
and  mingled  with  the  crowd,  followed  it  for  a  hundred  yards 
or  so,  and  then  fell  out,  to  be  replaced  by  others.  This 
throng — noisy,  perspiring,  drunken — was  visible  from  afar, 
while  in  its  midst  the  berline  was  almost  hidden  from  sight 
so  closely  was  it  encircled  and  imprisoned.  Yet  there  it  was, 
its  windows  open,  its  surface  grey  with  dust,  and  within  it, 
imagined  rather  than  seen,  the  King's  face,  red  and  swollen 
from  the  heat,  the  Queen's  indignant  brow,  the  children  in  a 
state  of  obvious  exhaustion.  These  signs  of  humiliation  only 
encouraged  the  dastardly  crowd,  who  elbowed  and  jostled  one 
another,  and,  clinging  to  the  carriage  door,  stared  over  it 
with  insolent  familiarity,  their  mouths  agape.  As  soon  as 
they  had  gazed  their  fill  they  flung  at  the  prisoners  the  only 
insult  they  knew,  "  Vive  la  Nation ! " 

It  took  them  nearly  three  hours  to  cover  three  leagues,  and 
it  was  only  at  half  past  twelve  that  the  huge  procession  reached 
the  farm  of  Vertevoie  and  began  to  descend  the  rapid  slope 
by  which  Sainte-Menehould  is  approached. 

Beneath  the  burning  sun  the  plain  of  Champagne  appeared 
to  be  literally  scorched.  And  already  there  arose  from  the 
valley  the  mighty  murmuring  of  an  over-excited  mob,  mingled 
with  the  rolling  of  drums  and  the  ringing  of  bells. 

The  town  of  Sainte-Menehould,  after  its  night  of  dis- 
tracting anxiety,  had  been  in  a  state  of  ferment  since  the 
dawn.     Drouet  and  Guillaume  had  reappeared  ^  at  four  o'clock 

^  "During  the  return  journey  the  dragoons  as  they  marched  were 
mingled  with  the  crowd  that  covered  the  road,  the  fields,  and  the 
meadows  :  they  were  greeted  with  cries  of  Vivent  Messieurs  les  dragons  !  " 

^  **  It  was  four  o'clock  when  the  Sieurs  Drouet  and  Guillaume,  reappearing 
in  our  midst,  .  .  ." — Extract  from  the  Minutes  of  the  Municipal  Council  of 
the  town  of  Sainte-Menehould.  "  Drouet  and  Guillaume,  who  were 
back  at  Sainte-M6nehould  on  the  following  day  by  three  o'clock  in  the 
morning,   announced.  .  .  ." — Memorial  proving    the  claims  of    the    in- 

148 


THE  RETURN 


in  the  morning,  and  had  made  known  the  course  of  events  at 
Varennes  :  shortly  afterwards  Mangin  had  passed  through  on 
his  way  to  Paris  with  the  news  of  the  arrest,  followed  by  a 
succession  of  couriers  who  gave  notice  of  the  King's  return. 
Whereupon  the  whole  neighbourhood  descended  upon  Sainte- 
Menehould  to  see  him.  Express  messengers  continually 
arrived  from  Chalons  seeking  information,  and  the  National 
Guard  of  that  town  had  actually  crowded  themselves  into 
four   wagons    and    posted  along  the  road.^      The  incident 


THB  TOWN  HALL  AT  SAINTE-M^NEHOULD. 


began  to  assume  the  appearance  of  a  gigantic  pleasure  party, 
for  the  housewives  of  Sainte-Menehould,  foreseeing  a  rush  of 
visitors,  had  been  baking  bread  all  night,  and  outside  the 
houses,  by  the  roadside,  tables  were  set  up  and  spread  with 
food.  Between  the  Porte  des  Bois  and  the  town  hall 
fifteen  thousand  men  ^  had  ranked  themselves  in  so  compact 
and  regular  a  mass  that  it  was  almost  impossible  to  move 
among  them. 

habitants  of  Sainte-M^nehould  upon  the  gratitude  of  the  nation.  Fournel, 
L'^v^nement  de  Varennes,  Pi^ce  Jtisti/icative,  p.  377. 

1  List  of  expenses  entailed  upon  the  department  of  the  Mame  by  the 
journey  of  the  King  and  the  royal  family. 

"To  the  Sieurs  Chanoine,  Fouet,  Loger,  Subet,  and  Quillet,  for  the 
posting  expenses  of  the  expedition  they  made  to  Sainte-M6nehould  at  the 
head  of  the  National  Guard  of  Chalons,  58fr,  10c. 

**  To  the  Sieur  Lance,  for  the  carriage  supplied  by  him  to  the  officers  and 
others  who  went  to  meet  the  King,  118  francs." 

^  Report  of  the  Muncipality  of  Sainte-M^nehould. 

149 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

At  the  corner  of  the  Basse  Terres  road  Dupin,  the  Mayor, 
and  de  Liege,  the  chief  municipal  officer,  presented  themselves 
at  the  door  of  the  carriage  as  it  drew  up. 

The  King  leant  forward  sleepily,  while  the  Mayor  delivered 
a  discourse  "  on  the  alarm  that  his  Majesty  had  caused  to 
the  nation  by  listening  to  advisers  unworthy  of  his  regard 
and  at  variance  with  the  dictates  of  his  heart."  The 
royalists  thought  this  lecture  misplaced,  the  patriots 
deemed  it  inadequate.  The  King  answered  timidly  that 
"  his  intentions  had  been  greatly  misunderstood,  for  he  had 
nothing  in  view  but  the  happiness  of  his  people  " ;  and  the 
berline,  preceded  by  the  Mayor,  went  on  its  way  to  the 
town  hall,  past  the  posting-house,  where  less  than  twenty 
hours  earlier  it  had  been  supplied  with  fresh  horses.  The 
King  looked  about  him  with  interest,  while  the  attention  of 
the  Queen,  who  was  sitting  far  back  on  the  left  side  of  the 
carriage,  was  attracted  by  a  certain  spectator  in  front  of  the 
posting-house,  who  raised  himself  on  tiptoe  above  the  heads  of 
the  crowd  and  saluted  her  with  a  sweeping  flourish  of  his  hat. 
This;  man,  who  was  greatly  moved,  was  dressed  simply,  but 
was  decorated  with  the  cross  of  St.  Louis ;  he  wore  two 
pistols  in  his  belt,  and  carried  a  musket  on  his  shoulder  after 
the  manner  of  a  grenadier.  A  few  steps  farther  on  was  the 
sign  of  the  Soleil  d'Or^  where  several  disarmed  dragoons  were 
standing  about  the  door  in  their  stable  jackets.  The 
berline  turned  to  the  right,  and  stopped  between  the 
stone  lions  by  which  the  entrance  to  the  town  hall  is 
guarded. 

In  a  large  room  on  the  ground-floor  a  table  was  laid  for 
five,  and  to  this  the  royal  family  was  led  by  the  Mayor.^ 
The  King  was  covered  with  perspiration  and  appeared 
harassed;  the  cloth  dresses  of  the  Queen  and  Madame 
Elizabeth  were  grey  with  dust ;  Madame  Royale  could  hardly 
stand,  and  the  Dauphin  fell  asleep  upon  his  chair.^  Never- 
theless, they  seated  themselves  at  the  table  in  silence,  and  the 
corporation  and  other  principal  local  authorities  waited 
respectfully  upon  their   Majesties.      The   King   took   some 

^  Buirette,  Hiatoire  de  Sainte-M^nehovld,  and  Report  of  the  Munici- 
pality. ^  Private  information. 

150 


M.    DE    DAMPIERRES   CHATEAU   AT   HANS. 


THE  PORTE  SAINTE  CROIX  AT  CHALONS-SUR-MARNE,  FORMERLY  THE  PORTE  DAUPHINE, 


THE    RETURN 

soup  in  a  silver  bowl,  which  was  handed  to  him  by  Paillette, 
the  landlord  of  the  Soleil  (TOr.^  The  meal,  indeed,  was  both 
dainty  and  lavish,-  and  towards  the  end  was  enlivened  by  a 
little  conversation.  The  royal  family  chatted  about  the 
heat,  their  feelings  of  fatigue,  the  past  and  future  course  of 
their  journey ;  while  the  King,  as  was  always  the  case  when 
he  spoke  naturally  and  without  nervousness,  charmed  every- 
one by  his  good  nature  and  patience.  The  Queen  inspired 
more  awe,  but  she  pleased  the  bourgeois,  who  were  mostly 
fathers  of  families,  by  her  care  for  her  son  ;  for  he  had  not 
been  undressed  for  forty  hours,  and  she  feared  the  effect  upon 
him  of  the  overpowering  heat  of  an  afternoon  in  the  berline. 
The  Mayor  placed  his  house  at  the  Queen'*s  disposal,  an  offer 
which  she  instantly  accepted,  and  it  was  decided  not  to 
continue  the  journey  until  the  early  morning  of  the  next 
day. 

But  the  impatient  crowd  without  was  growing  weary  of 
waiting.  The  people  had  come  to  see  all  that  was  going 
on,  and  they  demanded  their  King  with  vociferous  cries. 
Louis  XVI  meekly  allowed  himself  to  be  led  upstairs, 
followed  by  Marie  Antoinette  with  her  son  in  her  arms. 
The  Mayor  opened  a  window,  at  which  the  King  appeared 
first,  then  the  Queen  and  the  Dauphin,  their  gracious  action 
being  greeted  by  a  loud  cry  of  "  Vive  la  Nation  !  "^ 

The  great  oblong  space  of  the  square  seemed  to  be  paved 
with  heads.  Hats  were  flourished,  hands  were  waved,  and 
every  eye  was  turned  towards  the  balcony,  where  the  King 
stood  dressed  in  his  disguise — the  brown  coat  and  the  hat 
laced  like  a  servants — greeting  them  with  a  wave  of  the  hand 
and  every  appearance  of  satisfaction. 

Then  suddenly  the  burning  curiosity  of  the  crowd  changed 

*  Faillette,  in  memory  of  the  King's  visit,  had  the  following  inscription 
engraved  upon  this  bowl : — 

"At  Sainte-M^nehould,  Louis  XVI,  as  he  was  being  taken  back  from 
Varennes  as  a  prisoner,  took  some  soup  in  this  bowl,  June  21  (stc),  1791." 
This  bowl  belonged  in  1891  to  Madame  Coloson. — Annalea  de  Venregistre- 
ment,  1891.     Article  by  M.  Tausserat. 

2  List  of  expenses. 

'•  To  the  Municipality  of  Sainte-M^nehould  and  the  neighbouring 
municipalities,  for  the  expenses  of  providing  food  for  the  royal  family, 
their  suite,  and  the  National  Guard,  and  of  providing  munitions  of  war, 
3697  livres,  17  sola,  5  dmiera." 

161 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

to  anger.  A  roar  of  indignation  arose  from  every  comer  of 
the  square,  for  the  ostlers  from  the  posting-house  had  just 
been  seen  to  push  the  berline  towards  the  stables,  and 
instantly  the  news  had  spread  that  the  King  would  not  start 
till  the  following  day.  "  We  are  betrayed  !  They  are  waiting 
for  de  Bouille,""  cried  the  leaders  of  the  mob,  and  all  the  towns- 
folk echoed,  "  We  are  betrayed  !  To  Chalons  !  To  Chalons  ! " 
for  in  imagination  they  already  saw  rushing  upon  their  town, 
sword  in  hand  and  carbines  loaded,  all  the  cavalry  that  was 
thought  to  be  swarming  in  the  forest. 

"  Well,  well,'""  said  the  King,  resigned  already,  "  let  us 
go!" 

As  he  was  about  to  go  downstairs  he  saw,  behind  the  gate 
that  divided  the  town  hall  from  the  gaol,  some  prisoners 
looking  at  him.  Taking  from  his  pocket  ten  louis,  to  which 
the  Queen  added  five,  he  begged  the  Mayor  to  distribute 
the  money  among  the  prisoners,  and  then  went  pensively 
down  to  the  breakfast-room,  where  he  waited,  without  say- 
ing another  word,  until  the  carriages  were  brought  round. 

The  crowd,  which  seemed  to  be  made  more  violent  by  each 
concession  on  the  part  of  its  victims,  was  becoming  insulting 
— ^ferocious  even.  As  the  departing  berline  turned  into  the 
Rue  de  la  Grande  Auche  a  riot  broke  out.  Signemont  had 
yielded  the  command  of  the  mob  to  Bayon  ;  the  Varennois — 
except  about  thirty  of  them,  who  had  probably  nothing  to  lose 
— had  returned  with  all  haste  to  their  town,  being  anxious 
to  leani  what  had  taken  place  there;  the  militia  of  the 
district  of  Clermont  and  the  "  patriot  dragoons ''  did  not  care 
to  go  farther.  The  escort,  then,  was  composed  of  new-comers, 
who  filled  the  office  of  warder  all  the  more  savagely  that  they 
had  run  no  risks  in  the  matter  of  the  arrest — quarrymen, 
woodcutters  from  the  forest,  chalk-diggers  from  the  plain,  the 
rifF-rafF  of  Champagne,  mean  and  miserable  villagers,  with 
shaven  chins,  thin  lips,  cunning  eyes,  and  stunted  forms, 
armed  with  hoes  and  old  muskets. 

The  departure  of  this  horde,  who  had  been  drinking  since 
the  morning,  took  place  beneath  the  fierce  three  o'clock  sun. 
It  was  no  longer  a  procession,  but  a  tornado ;  and  its  general 
appearance  was  such  that  the  magistrates  of  Chalons,  who  had 

152 


THE   RETURN 

posted  from  that  towii  with  the  intention  of  receiving  the 
King  at  the  confines  of  the  department,  when  they  encountered 
this  rabble  pouring  out  of  the  gates  of  Sainte-Menehould 
promptly  returned  as  they  came  without  leaving  their  car- 
riages, or  even  seeing  the  royal  berline,  which  was  being 
detained  at  the  entrance  of  the  Grande  Auche  by  the  out- 
break of  a  riot. 

For  there,  by  the  house  forming  the  comer  of  the  Rue  de 
TAbreuvoir,  was  a  man  who,  this  time  on  horseback,  was 
recognisable  as  that  knight  of  St.  Louis  who  had  stood  bristling 
with  pistols  before  the  posting-house  at  the  entrance  to  the 
town,  and  had  saluted  the  Queen.  He  was  obviously  much 
excited,  and  as  a  protest  against  the  insulting  jeers  of  the 
peasants  he  seized  the  musket  that  was  hung  upon  his 
shoulder  and  presented  arms.  The  King  saw  him,  and  re- 
turned his  salute. 

The  rider  then  cut  a  path  for  himself  through  the  crowd 
by  a  movement  of  his  horse,  and  hurrying  on  by  the  short  way 
through  the  Rue  des  Capucins,  posted  himself  at  the  farther  end 
of  the  bridge,  at  the  comer  of  the  Quai  de  THopital.  As  the 
carriage  passed  he  tried  to  urge  his  horse  through  the  crowd, 
who  repulsed  him  with  their  cudgels ;  however,  in  the  middle 
of  the  faubourg  he  succeeded  in  drawing  near  enough  to 
salute  the  King  again,  at  the  same  time  crying  out  his  name 
and  style.  Above  the  uproar  his  voice  was  heard  announcing 
that  he  was  "  the  Comte  de  Dampierre,  that  he  had  married 
Mile,  de  Segur,  a  relation  of  the  Minister  and  a  niece  of  M. 
d"'Allonville.'"  It  is  not  known  whether  the  King  heard  him, 
but  the  escort  hooted,  and  tried  to  dismount  him.  Urging 
his  horse  forward,  he  dashed  through  the  crowd,  and,  firing  his 
musket  as  he  went,  galloped  away  along  an  embankment  that 
crossed  a  certain  piece  of  marshy  land  called  the  Pool  of  Rupt. 
Some  of  the  peasants  fired  on  him  without  hitting  him,  but 
his  horse  slipped  on  the  muddy  turf  and  he  rolled  into  a  ditch, 
where  he  was  quickly  found.  There  they  shot  him  at  close 
quarters  as  he  lay,  battered  him  with  cudgel-blows,  disfigured 
him  with  pickaxes ;  but  the  incident  was  hardly  noticed  amid 
the  songs  and  shouts  of  the  gay-hearted  crowd.  The  King, 
however,  heard  the  firing  of  the  shots  and  made  inquiries. 

153 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 


"  It  is  nothing,"  someone  answered  him  ;  "  it  is  only  a  mad- 
man being  killed." 

But  Dampierre  was  not  dead  yet.  The  murderers, 
therefore,  seized  him  by  his  coat  collar  and  dragged  him, 
howling  with  pain,  to  the  road,  intending  to  finish  their 
work  beside  the  royal  carriage.  But  being  checked  at  a 
distance^  of  fifty  yards  from  the  high-road  by  a  narrow  but 

deep  ditch,  they 
rolled  the  dying 
man  into  it  and  de- 
spatched him  with 
a  final  charge  of 
shot. 

At  the  first  vil- 
lage, Dammartin  la 
Planchette,  the  as- 
sassins were  within 
an  ace  of  killing 
each  other  over  the 
business  of  dividing 
among  themselves 
the  arms  and  horse 
of  their  victim  ;  and 
it  is  said  that  they 
left  on  his  body  a 
chain  of  gold  and 
fifty  louis,  which  were  found  at  the  time  of  his  burial.^ 

The  procession  had  not  paused,  but  continued  to  advance 
slowly  under  the  merciless  sky — a  deplorable  rabble  of  ex- 
hausted men,  dragging  their  feet  after  them.  Three  hours 
after  leaving  Sainte-Menehould  they  arrived  at  Auve,  where 

^  It  is  a  truly  astonishing  thing  how  inaccurate  even  the  spectators  of 
the  drama  were  in  their  recollections  of  certain  points.  Thus  Madame  de 
Tourzel  places  the  murder  of  M.  de  Dampierre  before  the  arrival  at  Sainte- 
M^nehould.  "When  the  King,"  she  said,  **was  passing  over  a  road 
between  Clermont  and  Sainte-M^nehould,  we  heard  the  sound  of  some 
rifle-shots,  and  we  saw  a  crowd  of  national  guards  running  in  the  meadow. 
The  King  asked  what  was  happening.  '  Nothing,'  was  the  answer  ;  *  it  is 
a  madman  they  are  killing  ! '  And  we  learnt  shortly  afterwards  that  it 
was  M.de  Dampierre,  a  nobleman  of  Clermont,  who  had  roused  the  suspicions 
of  the  National  Guard  by  his  eagerness  in  trying  to  approach  his  Majesty's 
carriage." 

154 


THE  SPOT  WHERE   M.    DAMPIERRE   DIED. 


THE  RETURN 

the  peasants  standing  by  the  roadside  watched  this  great 
throng  tramping  past  them  in  an  uproar  of  shouts  and 
obscene  songs,  those  who  were  near  the  berline  addressing 
scurrilous  remarks  to  the  King  and  Queen,  who  could  be  seen 
sitting  there  in  a  cloud  of  dust,  worn  out,  melancholy, 
motionless. 

Having  left  the  village  behind  them,  they  continued  to 
journey  across  the  great  plain.  At  Le  Neuf  Bellay,  a  hamlet 
of  three  houses,  which  they  reached  before  Tilloy,  they  met, 
at  about  seven  o'clock,  M.  Plaiet,  a  member  of  the  Directory 
of  the  department  of  La  Mame,  and  M .  Roze,  the  procureur- 
gerieral-syndic  of  Chalons,  who  saluted  their  Majesties  respect- 
fully. They  found  the  royal  family  "  in  a  state  of  dejection 
of  which  it  would  be  impossible  to  form  any  idea.""  At  Pont- 
de-Somme-Vesle  there  was  a  short  halt  to  change  horses. 
The  escort,  since  the  arrival  of  the  magistrates  of  Chalons, 
had  been  rather  less  disorderly ;  the  carriage  was  encircled  by 
national  guards  ;  the  Varennois  who  intended  to  travel  all  the 
way  to  Paris  had  secured  vehicles  at  the  posting-houses,  and 
the  procession  now  stretched  out  over  a  long  distance  and  had 
the  appearance  of  a  military  convoy.  The  laggards  who 
formed  the  rear-guard  were  half  tipsy,  and  when  as  night  fell 
they  passed  below  Notre  Dame  de  TEpine  they  broke  the 
windows  of  the  priest's  house  with  stones.^ 

As  they  approached  Chalons  the  escort  was  gradually 
swelled  by  those  who  had  hurried  in  from  the  neighbouring 
country  to  satisfy  their  curiosity.  The  road  was  lined  with 
horsemen,  with  crowded  vehicles,  with  foot  passengers,  all  of 
whom  stared  with  amazement  at  this  strange  troop  of  about 
four  or  five  thousand  men,^  of  whom  barely  a  quarter  wore 
uniform.  Never  did  any  monarch  yet  make  an  entry  like 
this  into  one  of  his  "  good  towns.*" 

At  the  junction  of  the  Avenues  of  Saint  Jean  with  the 
royal  route,  at  the  spot  then  called  the  Fork,  a  detachment 
of  mounted  police  was  posted.     These  fell  in  at  the  head  of 

'  *'  To  the  8ieur  cur6  of  TEpine,  for  repairing  the  windows  of  his  house, 
broken  by  the  National  Guard  when  the  King  passed,  39  lim-es." — List  of 
Expenses. 

2  OflBcial  Report  of  what  occurred  at  ChllloDS. 

155 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

the  procession,  which  then  turned  into  the  Avenues  in  order 
to  avoid  the  circuitous  way  through  the  heart  of  the  town. 
It  was  past  eleven  o'^clock  at  night. 

The  National  Guard  of  Vitry-le-Fran9ois,  combined  with 
those  of  all  the  towns  and  villages  of  the  district,  were  drawn 
up  under  the  trees  as  far  as  the  Porte  Dauphine.  Nothing 
was  distinguishable  within  the  berline,  but  on  the  box  were 
the  three  officers  of  the  Guard  in  their  yellow  liveries,  sitting 
motionless,  as  they  had  sat  since  the  morning,  under  a  fire  of 
mockery  and  abuse.  As  the  King  passed,  the  militia  and  the 
crowd  made  no  sound,  but  the  moment  the  Varennois  ap- 
peared, in  high  feather,  there  were  cries  of  ''Bravo!  Vive 
Varennes !    Vive  la  Nation !  *" 

At  the  Porte  Dauphine  the  berline  stopped.  On  these  very 
stones  the  carriage  of  the  young  Archduchess  Marie  Antoinette 
had  drawn  up  in  1770,  when  she  was  on  her  way  into  France 
to  be  its  Queen.  It  was  in  her  honour  that  this  tall  stone 
archway  had  arisen  so  grandly ;  and  still  by  the  light  of  the 
illuminations  that  outlined  its  entablatures  that  night  could 
be  read  the  inscription  carved  upon  it  twenty-one  years  earlier  : 
Perstet  aeterna  ut  amor — May  this  monument  endure  as  long 
as  our  love ! 

Under  the  archway  the  municipal  body  harangued  the  King, 
and  then,  preceding  the  carriage  as  it  passed  between  the  two 
lines  of  national  guards,  marched  on  two  hundred  yards 
farther  to  the  new  Intendanfs  house,  where  apartments  had 
been  prepared.^ 

Marie  Antoinette  had  long  ago  lodged  in  this  magnificent 
building,  when  journeying  from  Vienna.  It  was  one  of  the 
most  sumptuous  specimens  of  the  charming  French  style  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  with  a  massive  portico  supported  by 
columns  and  richly  decorated  with  shields  ;  high,  small-paned 
windows,  ornamented  on  the  tympanum  with  a  graceful  gar- 
land carved  in  stone ;  and  a  huge  court,  splendidly  regular, 

1  List  of  expenses  entailed  upon  the  department  of  the  Marne  by  the 
King's  visit. 

"To  Ogny's  wife  for  preparing  the  rooms  in  the  Intendant's  house  for 
the  arrival  of  the  royal  family,  12  livres. 

**  To  the  Sieur  Machet,  upholsterer,  the  sum  of  75  livres,  for  furniture 
supplied  for  the  apartments  of  the  royal  family." 

156 


THE   RETURN 

with  its  three  faeces  all  of  the  same  architectural  style, 
ending  in  an  Italian  balustrade.  Notwithstanding  the  crowd, 
the  berline  contrived  to  enter  the  court.  On  the  threshold 
of  the  reception  rooms  on  the  ground-floor,  which  were 
brightly  lit  up,  some  young  girls  of  the  place  presented  the 
Queen  with  baskets  of  flowers,^  and  respectfully  offered  to 
wait  upon  her ;  while  the  King,  in  spite  of  the  lateness  of  the 
hour,  was  expected  to  receive  official  visits  from  the  members 
of  the  departmental  government,  the  district  tribunal,  and  a 
body  of  officers  belonging  to  the  urban  guard  and  the  mounted 
police.^  After  this,  at  one  ©""clock,  supper  was  served,^  at 
which  all  the  administrative  bodies  were  present,  seated  round 
the  table  in  the  correct  order  of  precedence.  It  was  not  till 
two  o'clock  that  the  royal  family  were  permitted  to  retire  up- 
stairs, where  bedrooms  had  been  prepared  for  them  on  the 
first  floor. 

Here,  for  the  first  time  since  they  had  left  the  Tuileries, 
the  fugitives  found  beds.  Not  one  of  them  lay  down, 
however,  for  the  warm  reception  of  the  Chalonnais,  and  the 
undisguisedly  loyal  sentiments  of  the  authorities — particu- 
larly of  the  Mayor  Chorez,  and  of  Roze,  the  procureur  of  the 
department  * — had  given  rise  to  the  wildest  illusions.  The 
King  was  on  his  feet  all  night,  while  the  Queen  and  Madame 
Elizabeth  were  equally  wakeful.  In  those  huge  and  lofty 
rooms,  whose  windows  look  out  upon  the  rich  foliage  of  the 
Park  of  Ormesson,  they  held  feverish  consultations.  Should 
they  attempt  to  remain  at  Chalons,  "  surrounding  themselves 
with  a  defensive  army,""  and  rallying  round  them,  as  though 
in  an  entrenched  camp,  eJl  the  royalists  of  France  ?  The 
commandant-general  of  the  mounted  police  was  expecting  the 
arrival  of  the  National  Guard  of  Rheims ;  and  if  this  body  of 
men,  well  armed  and  equipped  as  they  were,  shared  the 
sentiments  of  the  Chalonnais,  "there  might  be  some 
possibility  of  keeping  the  King,  since  reinforcements  would 

^  Mimoires  de  Madame  de  Tourzel. 

^  Official  Report  of  what  occurred  at  Chalons. 

■  "  To  the  Sieur  Deuillin,  caterer,  for  the  supper  for  the  King  and  the 
royal  family,  400  livres. " — List  of  Expenses, 

•*  Chorez  was  nearly  cut  to  pieces  that  very  day  because  of  his  royalist 
sentiments.  He  was  obliged  to  fly  and  hide  himself.  Roze  died  on  the 
scaflfold  in  Paris  in  1794. 

157 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

constantly  come  in  of  all  the  true  sons  of  France  in  the 
neighbourhood.'*'*  ^ 

They  even  considered  the  insane  idea  of  turning  back  again 
to  Montmedy.  The  National  Guard  of  Chalons  offered  to 
serve  as  an  escort  of  honour  to  the  King,  only  asking,  in  order 
to  make  themselves  into  a  body  of  cavalry,  for  authority 
to  use  the  horses  of  the  Bodyguard,  which  had  been  left  at 
the  depot  in   Chalons  ever  since   the  disbandment  of  the 


THE  PBEFBCTURE,   FORMBRLY  THE  INTENDANT'S  HOUSE  AT  CHALdNS-SUR- 

MARNE. 

corps.  Others  entreated  the  King  to  leave  the  town  without 
delay,  and  to  fly  to  join  the  army  of  de  Bouille.  In  the  room 
where  the  Dauphin  was  sleeping — the  end  room  at  the 
southern  corner  of  the  facade  looking  towards  the  garden — 
a  secret  staircase  was  hidden  in  the  wall,  by  which  it  was 
possible  to  leave  the  building  without  being  seen  by  the 
sentinels,  and  take  refuge  among  the  trees  of  the  park.^ 

*  Precis  hiatorique  du  Gomte  de  Valory. 

2  This  staircase,  which  still  exists,  enables  one  to  identify  the  room 
occupied  by  the  Dauphin.  Madame  de  Tourzel  simply  says:  "They 
showed  him  a  secret  staircase  in  the  room  where  Monseigneur  le  Dauphin 
slept,  which  it  was  impossible  to  discover  unless  one  knew  where  it  was," 


THE   RETURN 

But  Louis  XVI  refused  to  fly  alone  ;  he  preferred  to  gain 
time.  It  was  therefore  arranged  that  he  should  stay  as  long 
as  possible  at  Chalons,  in  order  that  "his  good  men  of 
Rheims,"  from  whom  he  expected  wonders,  might  have  time 
to  arrive. 

In  the  early  morning  he  lay  down,  but  at  about  half  past 
nine  was  awakened  by  the  news  that  the  "good  men  of 
Rheims ""  had  arrived.  They  were  a  collection  of"  black  sheep,'' 
recruited  from  the  factories,  who  had  marched  all  night,  and 
were  dnmk  with  fatigue,  heat,  and  wine.  Being  prevented 
from  coming  too  near  the  Intendant's  house,  they  yelled  out 
threats  from  a  distance,  and  demanded  the  immediate 
departure  of  the  royal  family,  whom  they  had  undertaken 
to  take  back  with  them  to  Rheims,  to  make  a  show  for  the 
populace.^ 

The  King  answered  obediently  that  "  he  would  dress 
himself  and  attend  Divine  service — for  this  Thursday,  the 
23rd,  was  Corpus  Christi  Day — and  that  immediately  after 
his  dinner  he  would  start,  in  accordance  with  the  desire  of  the 
people."  2 

At  ten  o'clock,  then,  he  left  his  rooms  and  went  to  Mass. 
The  landing  outside  the  salons  was  lined  with  national 
guards  and  town  police,  who  presented  arms  ;  ^  and  in  the 
chapel  of  the  Intendant's  house,  on  the  middle  story  of  the 
left  wing,  the  Abbe  Chalier,  cur6  of  Notre  Dame,  made 
ready  to  officiate.* 

But  before  the  introductory  prayers  were  ended  a  great 
uproar  arose  in  the  court  of  the  building.  The  good  men 
of    Rheims  had    succeeded  in  forcing    their  way  past    the 

^  "  When  the  National  Guard  of  Rheims  arrived  they  expressed  their 
intention  of  making  the  King  and  his  family  go  round  by  Rheims  on  their 
return  to  Paris.  At  the  same  time  disturbing  rumours  were  disseminated, 
to  the  eflFect  that  the  administrative  body  intended  to  keep  the  King  at 
Chalons  for  the  whole  day,  in  order  to  facilitate  his  rescue  or  flight." — 
Official  Report  of  what  occurred  at  Chalons. 

^  Official  Report  of  what  occurred  at  ChMons. 

'  "To  the  police  of  the  town  of  Chalons,  for  the  day  and  night  spent 
by  them  on  the  occasion  of  the  King's  arrest,  36  livrea." — List  of 
Expenses. 

*  This  chapel,  though  disused,  has  not  been  altered  :  it  is  a  little  room, 
with  the  altar  standing  back  in  an  alcove,  which  is  panelled  with  fin? 
J^uia  Quinze  woodwork  in  white  and  gold. 

159 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

sentinels,  and  were  overrunning  the  hall  and  the  beautiful 
stone  staircase  with  the  gilded  iron  railing  that  led  to  the 
chapel.  They  were  shouting  at  the  top  of  their  voices  that 
"  Capet  was  fat  enough  already  for  what  they  were  going  to 
do  with  him,"'  and  that  they  would  undertake  "  to  make 
cockades  for  themselves  of  the  bowels  of  Louis  and  Antoinette, 
and  sashes  of  their  skins "" ;  while  others  demanded 
"  their  hearts  and  livers,""  that  they  might  cook  and  eat 
them.^ 

The  corporation  of  Chalons  succeeded  in  calming  these 


h^ 


THE  OLD  INTBNDANT's   HOUSE  AT  CHAl6nS-SUR-MARNB,   SEE!I  FROM   THE 
PARK   OF  ORMESSON. 


madmen,  and  the  Mass  was  proceeded  with;  but  a  few 
moments  later  a  great  noise  of  broken  windows  ^  and  of 
"  fearful  cries  "  spread  terror  throughout  the  building.  This 
time  the  people  were  declaring  that  Capet  had  been  made 
away  with,  that  the  hostile  troops  were  approaching,  and 
that  de  Bouille  was  at  the  gates  of  the  town.  It  was 
necessary  to  interrupt  the  service.  A  window  was  opened 
and  the  King  appeared.  A  tremendous  uproar  greeted  him, 
but  with  a  gesture  he  asked  for  silence,  and  declared  that  "  as 


^  Moustier's  Narrative. 

2  *'  To  the  Sieur  Mathieu,  glazier,  the  sum  of  13  livres  for  windows 
broken  at  the  Intendant's  house  on  the  occasion  of  the  King's  visit." — 
List  of  Expenses. 

160 


THE   RETURN 

soon  as  the  carriages  were  ready  he  would  start."  Seen  from 
the  balconies,  the  court,  with  its  simple,  noble  lines,  looked 
like  a  boiling  cauldron  :  from  the  archway  that  led  under  the 
right  wing  to  the  stables  a  mass  of  people  were  dragging  the 
berline,  which  was  knocked  about,  and  pushed  and  almost 
carried  bodily,  till  it  came  to  a  standstill  at  the  entrance  on 
the  left,  where  the  horses  were  quickly  put  in.  The  royal 
family,  without  taking  the  time  to  touch  a  morsel  of  the  meal 
that  the  cooks  had  hastily  prepared,  hurried  into  the  berline 
under  the  protection  of  some  of  the  officers  and  municipal 
authorities  of  the  place  ;  ^  and  at  midday  the  royal  carriage 
drove  away  from  the  Intendanfs  house  into  the  heart  of  the 
town.  A  mounted  guard  acted  as  escort  and  cleared  the 
way  through  the  narrow  streets  that  led  past  the  town 
hall  and  out  of  Chalons  by  way  of  the  Rue  de  Marne. 

The  terrible  men  of  Rheims  having  been  made  to  under- 
stand that  it  was  impracticable  to  go  round  by  their  town, 
the  procession  followed  the  road  to  Epemay.  The  town- 
guards  of  Chalons  and  Vitry-le-Francois  encircled  the  berline, 
and  kept  at  a  distance  the  thirsty  and  uproarious  crowd  that 
persisted  in  following  it.  As  far  as  Matougues  a  certain  degree 
of  order  was  secured,  but  there  an  express  messenger  from 
Chalons  brought  the  news  that  the  town  was  being  sacked ;  ^ 
*'  a  frenzied  multitude  had  invaded  the  town  hall,  run  the 
Mayor  through  with  pikes,  and  robbed  the  provision  shops."" 
Help  was  wanted  instantly ;  the  outbreak  must  be  stopped. 
Right  about  face !  In  a  moment  the  national  guards  were 
hurrying  home  along  the  road  to  Chalons,  leaving  the  royal 
family  to  the  tender  mercies  of  the  men  of  Rheims. 

This  was  the  most  terrible  stage  of  all  their  martyrdom. 
The  four  long  hours  that  they  spent  in   covering  the  five 

^  "The  Queen  and  her  two  children,  Madame  Elizabeth,  Madame  de 
Tourzel,  and  the  women  of  the  suite  were  protected  by  the  arms  of  the 
brave  men  who  formed  the  guard  inside  the  house,  and  who  assured  them 
(the  royal  family)  of  their  loyalty  and  courage,  promising  to  protect  and 
help  them  at  the  risk  of  their  lives. 

The  King,  the  royal  family,  and  the  suite  went  into  the  salon  where 
their  dinner  had  been  hastily  made  ready,  but  their  state  of  agitation 
made  it  impossible  for  them  to  eat  anything." — Report  of  what 
occurred,  etc. 

^  Report  of  what  occurred  at  Chalons. 

161  M 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

leagues  between  Matougues  and  iSpernay  were  certainly  among 
the  most  cruel  of  the  whole  journey.  The  little  that  is  known 
of  them  is  almost  incredible.  At  Chouilly  the  entire  village, 
having  been  warned  of  the  King's  approach,  set  out  as  one 
man  to  meet  him ;  and  a  little  before  four  o'clock  they  saw  the 
berline  descending  the  hill  of  La  Haute  Borne  to  the  entrance 
of  the  little  town,  where  it  drew  up  opposite  the  Rue  des 
Gres.  The  travellers  and  their  conveyances  were  in  a  pitiable 
plight,  and  the  peasants  of  Chouilly  looked  on  in  horror 
while  the  wretches  who  surrounded  the  carriages  shook  their 
fists  threateningly  at  the  prisoners  and  spat  in  the  King's 
face.  None  dared  protest.  Louis  XVI  sat  like  a  statue. 
The  Queen  and  Madame  Elizabeth  wept  with  rage  and  indig- 
nation.^ 

It  appeared  certain  to  these  people  of  Chouilly,  as  they 
watched  the  procession  passing  on  its  way,  that  the  King  and 
Queen  would  not  reach  Paris  alive.  Some  of  them  followed  as 
far  as  ]6pernay,  where  there  was  a  delay  of  five  hours  for 
refreshments,  or  rather,  as  it  was  pompously  expressed  by  a 
man  of  the  place,  for  the  purpose  "  of  drinking  long  draughts 
from  the  cup  of  bitterness."  The  suburb  of  La  Folic  did  not 
then  exist,  and  the  berline  had  only  passed  the  first  few 
houses  of  the  Rue  de  Chalons  when  it  drew  up  before  the 
Hotel  de  Rohan,  where  dinner  had  been  ordered.  So  great 
was  the  crush  in  front  of  the  inn  that  it  nearly  required  a  free 
fight  to  make  a  way  for  the  prisoners  through  the  crowd. 
Then  the  carriage  door  was  opened,  and  they  alighted  under 
a  fire  of  curses  and  gibes,  a  forest  of  extended  arms  and 
threatening  pikes  and  uplifted  hatchets,  a  storm  of  yells  and 
insults.  The  National  Guard  of  Pierry,  a  village  near  Epernay, 
cleared  the  entrance  to  the  hotel  for  a  moment ;  but  no  dam 
could  stand  against  the  fierce  pressure  of  that  crowd,  which 
dashed  into  the  courtyard,  dragging  with  it  in  its  chaotic, 
headlong  course  both  the  Guard  and  the  royal  family.  The 
Dauphin,  whom  one  of  the  officers  of  the  bodyguard  had 
lifted  up  above  the  turmoil,  looked  for  his  parents  in  vain  and 
began  to  scream,  till  the  officer  of  the  Pierry  Guard — the  son 
of  Cazotte — held  out  his  arms  to  the  crying  child,  who  flung 
*  J^tude  hwtorique  de  Chouilly,  by  the  Abb^  Barre,  p.  227. 

162 


THE  RETURN 

himself  into  them.  Young  Cazotte^s  cheeks  were  wet  with 
the  tears  of  the  little  prince  as  he  carried  him  into  the  room 
where  the  Queen  had  taken  refuge.^  Here  he  was  kissed  and 
comforted  by  his  mother,  who,  having  torn  her  dress  in  the 
tumult,  was  trying  as  best  she  could  to  repair  the  damage. 
Cazotte  succeeded  in  finding  and  bringing  to  her  aid  the 
daughter  of  the  landlord,  Mile.  Vallee,  "  a  young  person  with 
the  prettiest  of  faces,""  who  with  blushing  cheeks  and  eyes  full 
of  tears  mended  the  Queen'^s  cloth  skirt. 

In  an  adjoining  room  the  King  was  sponging  his  face,  sur- 
rounded by  municipal  and  other  officials  of  the  place.  He  was 
worn  out  with  fatigue  and  black  with  dust.  *'  This  is  what 
one  gets  by  travelling,""  suggested  a  man  of  Epemay  who  was 
standing  by. 

A  kind  of  conversation  followed.  Louis  XVI  repeated 
"  that  it  had  not  been  his  intention  to  leave  France,  but  that 
he  could  no  longer  remain  in  Paris,  where  his  family  was  in 
danger.'*''  ^ 

"  Oh,  but  excuse  me,  Monsieur,  you  could ! ""  said  one  of  the 
bystanders. 

The  King  looked  at  him  and  was  silent. 

Dinner  was  prepared  in  a  large  room  on  the  ground-floor, 
whose  two  windows  overlooked  the  courtyard,  which  was 
thronged  with  the  howling  mob.  The  latter,  however,  baffled 
by  the  calm  resignation  of  the  little  party  at  the  table,  grew 
gradually  less  noisy. 

"  After  all,''  said  a  voice,  "  they  look  very  nice." 

*  The  Sieur  Cazotte  JIU  left  Pierry  at  the  head  of  his  well-disciplined 
company.  As  soon  as  they  saw  the  prisoners  coming  he  had  the  carriages 
surrounded  ;  he  gave  his  hand  to  Madame  Elizabeth,  lifted  out  the  King's 
daughter,  took  the  Dauphin  on  his  shoulder  and  carried  the  child  into  the 
room  that  had  been  prepared  ;  he  drew  up  his  men  in  the  yard,  brought 
order  into  the  arrangements  of  the  inn,  saw  that  dinner  was  put  on  the 
table,  and  by  means  of  his  troops  prevented  the  crowd  from  climbing  up 
on  the  window-sills,  so  that  the  royal  family  should  not  be  worried  during 
their  meal.  He  persuaded  the  prisoners  to  show  themselves  to  the  people, 
and  by  this  double  method  he  avoided  discontent  on  one  side  and  the 
importunities  he  might  have  been  subjected  to  by  the  other  side.  They 
asked  his  name,  and  he  told  it ;  the  Queen,  who  had  had  no  peace  till  this 
moment,  showed  her  appreciation  of  the  way  he  had  behaved. — Examina- 
tion of  Jacques  Cazotte  by  Fouquier-Tinville,  Aug.  30th,  1792,  published 
in  the  Cabinet  Jlistarique,  July-Sept.,  1875. 

^  Journal  de  Louis  XVI  etde  son  peuple. 

163  M  2 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

And  this  was  the  universal  impression  among  all  who  had 
a  near  view  of  the  prisoners,^  though  the  greater  number  of 
the  people,  those  who  had  remained  outside  under  the  arch- 
way and  in  the  street,  were  happily  engaged  in  exciting 
themselves  and  each  other  with  silly  fables,  having  for  basis 
the  phenomenal  gluttony  of  the  King  and  the  Queen's 
shameless  coquetry.  And  thus,  when  at  the  end  of  an  hour 
the  meal  was  over  and  the  time  had  come  to  pass  again 
through  that  infuriated  crowd,  the  situation  was  not  without 
danger.  Each  of  the  travellers  in  succession  was  conveyed 
to  the  berline  encircled  by  a  group  of  national  guards  with 
arms  interlaced ;  and  Madame  de  Tourzel,  who  was  almost 
carried  by  young  Cazotte,  was  deposited  on  her  seat  in  a 
half-fainting  condition.  When  the  Queen  appeared  on  the 
footpath  a  woman  flung  at  her  these  parting  words  :  "  On  you 
go,  ma  petite ;  there  are  plenty  more  that  you'll  be  made  to 
see ! " 

And  indeed  this  was  true  enough,  for  even  on  the  outskirts 
of  Epemay  the  cruel  martyrdom  began  again.  There  was  no 
one  in  command  of  the  escort  but  Bayon,  who  had  not 
parted  from  "  his  prisoners  "  ^  since  leaving  Sainte-Menehould ; 
and  his  authority  was  a  cipher.  So  also  was  that  of  M.  Roze, 
the  procureur-general  of  La  Marne,  who  accompanied  the 
royal  family  to  the  confines  of  the  department ;  while  the  few 
persistent  Varennois  who  had  not  been  discouraged  by  the 
length  of  the  journey  were  driving  in  carts  at  the  head  of 
the  procession,  and  were  content  to  take  no  share  in  the  affair 
beyond  accepting  ovations  and  cheers.  The  rabble  from 
Rheims,  then,  were  masters  of  the  situation,  and  made  the 
most  of  their  advantages.  As  they  passed  through 
Vauciennes  they  had  seized  the  cure  of  the  place  and  bound 
him  on  a  constable's  horse,  declaring  that  they  would  "  disem- 
bowel him  under  the  eyes  of  Capet  and  his  brood."  The 
Sparnassiens  ^  who  followed  the  berline  as  far  as  the  turning 
to  Mardeuil  were  convinced,  like  the  people  of  Chouilly,  that 
the  prisoners  "  would  never  reach  Paris." 

*  Partie  de  Plaisir,  etc. 

2  Le  Bahillard,  La  Feuille  du  Jour^  Mercure  universel,  etc. 

*  (Inhabitants  of  Epemay. — Trans.) 

164 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE    COMMISSIONERS   OF   THE    ASSEMBLY 

Paris,  meanwhile,  had  for  two  days  been  feeling  quite 
overcome  by  the  excellence  of  its  own  behaviour.  After  the 
first  few  hours  the  panic  as  to  the  consequences  of  the  affair 
had  subsided,  and  the  people,  reassured  by  the  idea  that  the 
King''s  flight,  which  might  very  well  have  been  productive  of 
tragedy,  was  really  only  a  meaningless  escapade  that  would 
result  in  no  public  calamity,  faced  the  situation  without  waste 
of  time.  With  that  mobility  for  which  they  may  always  be 
depended  upon,  they  passed  from  panic  to  anger,  and  from 
anger  to  buffoonery.  During  the  afternoon  of  the  21st  frolic- 
some individuals  were  to  be  seen  running  about  the  streets  in 
groups,  tearing  the  royal  emblems  from  the  escutcheons  on 
the  notaries'*  doors,  scraping  the  fleurs-de-lis  from  the  barbers'" 
shop-fronts,  tearing  up  the  portraits  of  the  King  and  Queen 
in  the  print-sellers'*  windows.  A  hatter  called  Louis  was 
forced  by  some  wags  to  erase  his  own  name  from  his  sign- 
board. The  following  announcement  was  cried  in  the  streets  : 
"Lost — a  King  and  Queen  !  A  handsome  reward  will  be  given 
to  anyone  who  does  not  find  them.""  There  can  be  no  doubt  that 
the  crowd  was  prompted  to  these  disorderly  amusements  by 
deliberate  agitators,  who  knew  that  the  revolutionary  ideals, 
presented  in  ways  of  this  kind,  would  sink  into  many  a  simple 
mind  that  had  been  holding  out  for  the  last  two  years  against 
all  the  theories  of  the  politicians. 

And  in  the  same  way  the  evilly  disposed  made  capital  out 
of  that  time-honoured  type  of  myth  that  is  always  so  eagerly 
seized  upon  in  similar  circumstances  by  popular  stupidity. 

165 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

No  details  of  the  flight  were  known  but  this,  which  was  told 
as  a  certainty :  that  the  King  was  drunk,  and  had  to  be  carried 
to  the  berline  by  four  men.  There  was,  moreover,  a  letter 
from  the  Queen  which  a  laundress,  the  wife  of  Flandre,  had 
intercepted  at  Madame  de  Rochechouarfs  house  and  had 
handed  over  to  the  Committee  of  Inquiries.  Marie  Antoinette, 
addressing  the  Prince  de  Conde,  thus  expressed  herself: 
"  Mon  ami,  do  not  pay  any  attention  to  the  decree  aimed  at 
you  by  the  Assembly  of  pigs.  We  will  find  a  way  to  make 
these  toads  and  frogs  skip.  This  is  the  way  our  fat  man 
is  going  to  get  off —  "  And  then  followed  the  details  of  a 
scheme  for  flying  to  a  castle  belonging  to  the  Prince  de  Croy 
on  the  frontier  of  Hainaut.^ 

For  this  was  the  belief  of  the  majority.  The  public,  taking 
probabilities  for  facts,  unanimously  believed  that  the  royal 
family  had  reached  the  northern  frontier.  On  some  points 
there  was  much  precision  of  detail.  A  carrier  called  Claude 
Tapon  had  recognised  the  King,  "  who  had  left  the  carriage 
pour  faire  ses  besoins''''  on  the  road  between  Senlis  and 
Vauderlan.^  It  was  said  that  the  royal  family,  having  left 
the  Tuileries  by  the  famous  underground  passage,  "  had  gone 
down  the  Seine  in  a  well  armed  boat  as  far  as  Saint-Ouen," 
and  gained  the  Forest  of  Compiegne,  where  they  found,  by 
way  of  escort,  the  whole  Royal  Swedish  Regiment,  commanded 
by  the  Comte  de  Fersen.^  These  inventions  assuaged  the 
curiosity  of  the  public,  but  as  a  matter  of  fact  nothing  was 
known.  Thirty  hours  after  the  fact  of  Louis  XVFs  de- 
parture was  authenticated  neither  the  National  Assembly  nor 
any  person  in  Paris  was  able  to  say,  or  indeed  had  any  idea, 
by  what  means  the  King  and  his  family  had  quitted  the 
Tuileries,  in  what  carriage  they  had  travelled,  or  what  road 
they  had  pursued.* 

This   sudden   efFacement   of  the   royal   power,  which   an 

1  National  Archives,  D.  XXIXb,  35. 

^  Archives  of  the  Record  Office  of  the  Court  of  Orleans,  and  document 
quoted  by  Bimbenet. 

^  Le  Bahillard. 

*  Letter  signed  Saint-Priet,  addressed  to  Madame  de  Saint-Priet,  wife 
of  the  Councillor  of  State,  at  Montpellier,  Paris,  June  22,  1791. — National 
Archives,  D.  XXIXb,  27. 


COMMISSIONERS  OF  THE  ASSEMBLY 

immense  majority  still  regarded  as  the  life  and  soul  of 
France,  created  a  feeling  of  overpowering  lethargy  and  deso- 
lation, which  one  may  detect  in  every  contemporary  narrative 
and  newspaper  article.  "  Nothing,  still  nothing ! ""  These  t 
were  the  words  with  which  the  Parisians  greeted  each  other  / 
during  those  two  long  days,  the  21st  and  22nd  of  June.  The 
first  fictitious  reports,  announcing  successively  that  the  King 
had  been  stopped  at  Meaux,  at  Senlis,  at  Valenciennes,  and 
on  the  shore  at  Honfleur,  were  followed  by  the  most  complete 
ignorance  of  his  destination ;  and  every  hour  that  passed 
added  to  the  impatience  of  the  people  and  the  mystery  of  the 
affair.  On  one  point  all  were  agi-eed  :  that  the  fugitives  had 
had  ample  time  to  reach  the  frontier,  and  that  it  would 
therefore  be  from  some  foreign  country  that  they  would 
dictate  the  terms  they  doubtless  meant  to  exact  from  the 
revolutionary  party. 

The  same  nightmare  of  uncertainty  and  anxiety  obsessed 
the  Assembly,  which  had  now  been  declared  en  permanence. 
Its  dignity  demanded  an  unruffled  deportment,  and  in  order  to 
show  the  world  that  a  vulgar  political  accident  such  as  the 
disappearance  of  the  Executive  did  not  preoccupy  it  to  the 
exclusion  of  the  sacred  interests  of  humanity,  it  had,  when 
the  first  excitement  subsided,  returned  to  the  discussion  of 
the  Penal  Code,  which  had  been  cut  short  a  month  before. 

It  was  a  seductive  opportunity  for  the  admirers  of  Cato  to 
affect  a  stoical  deportment.  In  their  anxiety  to  exhibit  an 
air  of  resolution  worthy  of  antiquity,  they  sat,  looking  very 
wise  on  their  curule  chairs,  affecting  to  listen  to  the  rapporteur, 
Le  Peltier  Saint-Fargeau,  moving  the  adoption  of  articles  6 
and  7  of  the  first  section  of  Document  No.  II.  These  were 
passed  without  discussion  ;  but  this  state  of  constraint  only 
l«isted  for  a  few  minutes,  for  the  attention  of  the  house 
was  elsewhere.  Whenever  a  door  opened  or  a  sound  was 
heard  in  the  hall,  every  mind  was  at  once  on  the  alert 
and  every  eye  was  asking :  "  Is  there  any  news  ?  Are  they 
caught  ? '' 

The  thoughts  of  all  'present  were  occupied  by  one  idea ; 
and  on  the  arrival  of  M.  de  Laporte,  the  Intendant  of  the 
Civil  List,  whom  the  Assembly  had  summoned   by  special 

167 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

decree,  Le  Peltier  Saint-Fargeau  and  the  Penal  Code  were 
altogether  extinguished  by  a  flood  of  overwhelming  curiosity. 
Laporte  was  known  to  be  very  much  in  the  confidence  of 
Louis  XVI,  and  it  had  just  been  heard  that  at  eight  o'clock  in 
the  morning  he  had  visited  Duport,  the  Minister  of  Justice, 
in  order  to  give  him  a  memorial  written  "  entirely  by  the 
King's  hand."  Duport  had  refused  to  receive  the  document, 
but  there  was  good  reason  to  think  that  in  it  Louis  XVI  had 
made  known  his  motives  in  taking  flight,  his  place  of  retire- 
ment, and  his  political  demands. 

No  sooner  *had  President  Beauharnais  proposed  that  the 
Assembly  should  hear  M.  de  Laporte  than  there  arose  from 
every  bench  a  positive  explosion  of  relief.  "  Yes  !  Yes  ;  let 
him  come  in  ! ''  Instantly  the  green  velvet  curtain  was  half 
lifted,  and  the  Intendant  of  the  Civil  List,  between  two  ushers, 
appeared  at  the  bar.  He  was  a  man  of  fifty  years  of  age, 
cold,  conventional,  and  haughty.  He  bowed,  and  Beauharnais 
signed  to  him  to  speak. 

"  This  morning,"  said  Laporte,  making  a  point  of  address- 
ing the  President  only,  "  this  morning,  at  eight  o'clock,  a 
packet  was  brought  to  me  from  the  King.  I  opened  the 
packet,  and  found  in  it  a  note  from  the  King  and  a  fairly 
long  memorial,  written  by  the  hand  of  his  Majesty." 

He  had  immediately  gone,  he  went  on  to  say,  to  the  Minis- 
ter of  Justice,  who  had  advised  him  to  seek  rather  the 
President  of  the  Assembly.  Then,  in  a  familiar  and  slightly 
disdainful  tone,  he  related  how,  being  ignorant  of  Beauharnais's 
address,  he  had  first  sought  him  in  the  Rue  Neuve  des 
Mathurins,^  then  in  the  Rue  des  Petits  Augustins,  where  he  had 
learnt  from  the  porter  that  the  President  had  just  gone  out. 
Laporte  had  then  determined  to  go  home,  making  up  his 
mind  that  nothing  would  induce  him  to  move  out  of  his  house 
again  that  day.  It  was  there  that  the  decree  of  the  National 
Assembly  had  found  him. 

The  deputies  were  trembling  with  impatience  while  they 
listened  to  this  preamble,  whose  triviality  contrasted  strikingly 

^  It  was  there  that  Beauharnais's  house  was  situated.  Its  fa9ade  still 
exists  in  the  yard  of  No.  32  Rue  des  Mathurins,  bearing  the  words  ffdtel 
de  Beauharnais  upon  a  marble  tablet. 

168 


COMMISSIONERS   OF  THE  ASSEMBLY 

with  the  importance  of  the  events  concerned.     Beauhamais 
asked  the  question  that  was  burning  on  every  lip. 
"  Have  you  the  memorial  with  you  ?  " 

"  It  has  never  left  my  pocket,''  answered  Laporte. 
"  By  whom  was  it  delivered  to  you  ? '" 

"  At  eight  o'clock  this  morning,  by  a  servant  who  is 
attached  to  the  room  of  the  King's  principal  valet-de- 
chambre.''''  ^ 

The  majesty  of  royalty  was  still  surrounded  by  so  much 
prestige  that  no  one  dared  to  ask  that  the  memorial  might  be 
read,  although  all  were  filled  with  the  greatest  longing  to 
hear  it.  The  deputies  looked  at  Laporte  as  though  his 
pocket  were  full  of  thunder,  but  much  as  they  desired  it  to  ex- 
plode, none  of  them  cared  to  take  the  responsibility  of  saying 
the  word  that  would  produce  the  detonation.  The  President 
himself,  who  acted  that  day  with  so  much  dignity  and  such 
admirable  presence  of  mind,^  was  not  bold  enough  to  put  the 
decisive  question.     He  tried  to  gain  time. 

"  Do  you  know,"  he  asked  of  Laporte.  "  the  name  of  the 
servant  who  delivered  the  packet  to  you  ?  " 

And  the  Intendant,  with  a  slightly  ironical  manner,  as 
though  sui-prised  in  such  circumstances  to  be  asked  nothing 
more  important  than  the  name  of  a  valet,  replied  : 

"  I  do  not  know  it,  but  it  would  be  easy  to  find  it  out,  if 
the  Assembly  would  give  the  order." 

"  Read  the  memorial !  "  murmured  a  few  voices  furtively. 

But  Beauhamais  again  evaded  the  point,  and  addressing 
Laporte : 

"  Have  you  the  King's  note  ?  "  said  he. 

"  Yes,  M.  le  President." 

Then  followed  an  emban-assed  silence.  What  was  to  be 
done  ?  Should  they  yield  to  curiosity,  and  demand  that  the 
contents  of  the  royal  document  should  be  communicated  to 
them  ?  Or  would  it  be  better,  on  the  contrary,  to  ignore  that 
unfortunate  statement,  which  was  perhaps  so  conceived  as  to 
defy  the  national  representatives  and  drive  them  to  resort 
to  some  cmip  (Ttltat  ?    Laporte  waited  impassively,  with  the 

^  Parliamentary  Archives,  1st  series,  XXVII,  sitting  of  June  21,  1791. 
^  M^moires  de  Barire,  Vol.  I,  p.  322. 

169 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

terrible  paper  in  his  pocket.  The  whole  Assembly  was 
stamping  with  impatience  on  the  banks  of  this  Rubicon.  It 
was  Charles  Lameth  who  was  the  first  to  plunge  in  bravely. 

"  The  memorial  must  be  read,*"  he  said. 

Instantly  there  were  cries  of  "  Read  it ! "  "  No,  no  !  ^ 

"  It  is  possible,"  went  on  Lameth,  "  that  this  memorial, 
written  by  the  King's  hand,  contains  matters  of  grave 
importance.  I  think  that  it  should  be  read  in  the  National 
Assembly." 

This  suggestion  was  greeted  with  nearly  unanimous  cheers. 
Beauharnais,  scrupulous  to  the  last,  asked  : 

"  Does  anyone  oppose  the  reading  of  the  document  ?  " 

"No!  No!" 

"Will  you  have  the  goodness,  M.  de  Laporte,  to  place 
the  King's  memorial  on  the  table  ?  " 

The  Intendant  crossed  the  floor  of  the  hall,  and  approach- 
ing the  oval  table,  drew  from  his  pocket  a  fairly  bulky 
manuscript  tied  round  with  a  pale  blue  ribbon,  which  he 
handed  to  Regnier,  one  of  the  secretaries.  As  for  the  note 
that  the  King  had  addressed  to  him  personally,  he  begged 
that  it  might  not  be  read  in  public.  There  was  some  dis- 
cussion on  this  point.  Beauharnais  informed  the  Assembly 
of  Laporte's  wish,  and  it  was  decided,  in  spite  of  some  oppo- 
sition, that  the  note,  being  the  Intendanfs  private  property, 
should  be  returned  to  him.  The  disturbance  roused  by  the 
incident  ceased  abruptly  when  Regnier  was  seen  to  rise  and 
prepare  to  read  the  royal  message.  It  was  amid  the  most 
absolute  silence  that  he  began  : 

Proclamation  of  the  King",  addressed  to  all  the  French,  on  his 
departure  from  Paris. 

"Excuse  me,"  interrupted  Gaultier-Biauzat,  the  deputy 
from  Clermont-Ferrand.  "  Excuse  me — is  this  memorial 
signed  with  the  King's  hand .? " 

This  interruption  was  greeted  with  an  outburst  of  im- 
patience, while  Regnier  answered  in  the  affirmative. 

"  It  is  a  trap  that  has  been  laid  for  you,"  insisted  Biauzat ; 
"  you  are  falling  from  one  trap  into  another." 

A  general  outcry  silenced  him,  and  he  sat  down.  Regnier 
began  again  : 

170 


COMMISSIONERS  OF  THE  ASSEMBLY 

Proclamation  of  the  King,  addressed  to  all  the  French,  on  his 
departure  from  Paris. 

Then,  without  break  or  pause,  he  read  that  lengthy  com- 
position, written  in  a  monotonous  style  somewhat  resembling 
that  of  a  sermon.  Moment  by  moment,  as  one  futile  accusa- 
tion after  another  fell  upon  the  ears  of  the  Assembly,  the 
stifling  emotion  that  had  seized  them  as  they  heard  the 
opening  words  gradually  passed  off*.  The  opposed  parties 
took  note  of  each  other ;  malicious  glances  were  exchanged 
between  the  dejected  royalists  and  the  "progressives,"'''  whose 
joy  was  great  though  carefully  restrained.  The  dominant 
feeling,  however,  was  a  kind  of  uneasiness,  the  half  disap- 
pointed surprise  of  those  who,  with  nerves  on  the  stretch,  are 
expecting  a  terrific  thimder-clap  and  hear  only  the  shrill 
report  of  a  child's  pistol.  The  paragraph  in  which  the  King 
complained  "  of  the  lack  of  comforts  in  his  rooms ""  was  heard 
in  shame- faced  silence,  but  a  murmur  ran  round  the  hall  when 
he  went  on  to  lament  the  inadequacy  of  the  Civil  List, 
25,000,000  being  insufficient  "  for  the  splendour  of  the 
establishment  it  was  his  duty  to  maintain,  to  do  honour  to 
the  dignity  of  the  crown  of  France.""  Never  was  the  mis- 
understanding that  was  at  the  heart  of  the  Revolution  more 
plainly  exhibited ;  these  bourgeois,  who  had  gained  so  much 
from  the  reforms  that  had  been  carried  out,  could  not  forgive 
a  word  of  complaint  on  the  part  of  the  man  they  had  robbed, 
whose  position  they  considered,  quite  honestly,  to  be  still  as 
desirable  as  he  himself,  equally  sincerely,  thought  it  to  be 
degraded. 

The  reading  of  the  proclamation  lasted  for  an  hour.  It  was 
interrupted  once  only ;  when  there  was  an  allusion  to  "  the 
diminution  of  the  resources  of  the  royal  purse  for  the  aid  of 
the  unfortunate,""  a  voice  from  the  Left  cried,  "  of  unfortu- 
nate courtiers."" 

The  King''s  message,  in  short,  did  nothing  but  give  ex- 
pression to  his  resentment.  It  contained  no  threat,  no  indi- 
cation of  his  plans  nor  of  the  means  he  meant  to  employ  to 
reconquer  his  kingdom  ;  and  his  silence  made  it  appear  as 
though  in  leaving  Paris  he  had  tendered  his  resignation,  like 
a  clerk  who  runs  away  because  he  dislikes  the  way  the  work 

171 


THE  FIJGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

is  carried  on  in  his  office.  Even  before  Regnier  had  finished 
reading  the  whole  Assembly,  now  completely  reassured,  was 
once  more  breathing  freely.  Nothing  very  tragic  could  come 
from  an  adversary  of  this  kind,  and  it  was  with  an  effort  that 
cost  them  little  that  the  deputies,  on  the  suggestion  of  the 
Abbe  Gregoire,  disdainfully  passed  on  to  the  order  of  the  day. 
They  returned  to  the  discussion  of  the  Penal  Code,  but 
merely  for  the  sake  of  appearances,  for  hardly  a  word  had 
been  uttered  when  voices  were  heard  demanding  an  bourn's 
rest.  The  sitting,  which  was  suspended  at  a  quarter  past 
four,  had  lasted  without  interruption  since  nine  o'clock  in  the 
morning. 

The  deputies,  dispersing  in  groups,  sought  th  bars  and 
restaurants  of  the  Terrasse  du  Manege  and  the  Jardin  des 
Feuillants,  many  of  them  taking  advantage  o^  this  interval  to 
"  take  a  breath  of  Paris  air."  The  town  was  astonishingly 
tranquil;  the  people  had  the  appearance  of  keeping  holiday.^ 
They  already  knew  the  substance  of  the  royal  lamentation, 
and  were  discussing  it  with  a  kind  of  pity,  while  waiting  to 
hear  "  whither  the  bird  had  flown."  This  enthralling  specu- 
lation was  the  beginning  and  end  of  all  their  thoughts.  The 
conduct  of  the  National  Assembly  was  vastly  admired,  and 
if  Lafayette''s  ill-luck  was  made  the  subject  of  a  certain 
amount  of  banter,  there  were  only  plaudits  and  cheers  for  the 
Swiss  officers  who  had  come  during  the  day,  with  their 
venerable  major-general,  d'AfFry,  at  their  head,  to  take  an 
oath  of  fidelity  and  devotion  to  the  Assembly.  The  evening, 
then,  promised  to  be  as  peaceful  as  possible  when  the  sitting 
was  resumed  in  the  Riding  School  at  six  o'clock,  under  the 
temporary  presidency  of  Dauchy. 

As  had  been  the  case  before  the  suspension  of  the  sitting, 
the  Assembly  found  it  extremely  difficult  to  fill  up  the  time. 
There  was  no  news  of  the  fugitives,  no  suspicion  as  to  the 
road  they  had  taken.  It  was  necessary,  therefore,  to  await 
events,  a  matter  none  too  easy  for  an  assembly  of  men  half 
delirious  with  impatience,  who  might  easily  be  carried  away 
by  any  untimely  suggestion  that  a  blustering  fire-eater  might 
choose  to  put  forward. 

^  M^moires  de  Barere,  Vol.  I.,  p.  321, 

17^ 


BARNAVE. 

From  an  unpublished  Drawing  by  Gros,  1790. 


COMMISSIONERS   OF  THE  ASSEMBLY 

And  indeed  this  disaster  was  nearly  brought  to  pass, 
shortly  after  the  resumption  of  the  sitting,  by  an  awkward 
phrase  in  which  Regnaud  called  the  ambassadors  of  foreign 
countries  to  account.  The  discussion  grew  bitter,  and  soon 
it  was  necessary  to  revert  to  the  Penal  Code,  which  the 
Assembly  continued  to  take  in  small  doses,  as  though  it  were 
a  paregoric. 

They  were  dozing  over  Article  9,  when  a  godsend  came  to 
them  in  the  form  of  a  military  interlude.  Rochambeau 
appeared  at  the  bar,  his  hair  snowy  with  powder  and  his 
general  officer''s  uniform  fitting  like  a  glove.  He  was  going, 
by  order  of  the  Minister,  to  take  command  of  the  Army  of 
the  North,  and  he  swore  solemnly  "  to  be  obedient  to  the 
decrees  of  the  Assembly  and  to  shed  his  blood  for  the  defence 
of  his  country."*"*  His  oath  was  greeted  with  cheers  and 
shouts  and  clapping  of  hands  :  and  behind  him  other  officers 
appeared — Messieurs  de  Crillon,  Lafayette,  de  Rostaing,  and 
d'Elbecq — all  of  whom  swore  fidelity  to  the  nation  and 
obedience  to  the  Assembly.  The  enthusiasm  grew ;  all  the 
deputies  were  on  their  feet,  and  from  the  benches  there 
descended  one  by  one  all  the  legislators  who  had  employ- 
ments in  the  army  :  Montesquiou,  d'Aiguillon,  de  Menou,  de 
Clermont  d''Amboise,  d''Arenberg,  de  Custine,  de  Praslin,  de 
Tracy,  de  la  Tour-Maubourg  ;  and  as  the  representative  of  his 
colleagues  the  last  named,  whose  tall  figure  towered  above  them 
all,  took  the  same  oath  of  fidelity.  Charles  de  Lameth,  who  also 
had  the  honour  of  commanding  a  regiment,  proposed  that 
a  new  oath  should  be  formulated  by  decree,  and  that  all  the 
soldiers  in  the  Assembly  should  be  called  upon  to  subscribe  to 
it  on  pain  of  expulsion.  His  speech  reflected  the  anxiety 
that  everyone  was  vainly  trying  to  conceal — the  fear  of  the 
threatening  morrow. 

*'In  twenty-four  hours,''  he  said,  "the  kingdom  may  be 
alight ;  we  may  be  face  to  face  with  the  enemy."" 

This  open  allusion  to  a  danger  hitherto  feared  in  silence 
produced  a  thrill  of  patriotism  throughout  the  Assembly. 
For  more  than  half  an  hour  nothing  was  heard  but  the  out- 
pouring of  chivalrous  sentiments  and  the  exchange  of  vows 
and  congratulations,  which  were  only  brought  to  an  end  by 

173 


if  OF^HE 

11  UNIVERSITY 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

the  introduction  of  a  bill  for  transforming  the  National 
Guards  of  the  kingdom  into  an  active  army  with  regular  pay, 
to  be  maintained  until  the  State  was  no  longer  in  such  danger 
as  to  require  special  services  from  her  citizens.  This  involved 
a  daily  expenditure  of  300,000  livres,  or  110,000,000  a  year — 
but  enthusiasm  was  the  order  of  the  day,  and  the  eleven 
articles  of  the  decree  were  passed  bodily  without  discussion ; 
and  even  so  the  matter  was  of  sufficient  length  to  save  the 
Assembly  from  resorting  to  the  Penal  Code  to  occupy  the 
time  till  news  should  arrive.  At  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening 
nothing  had  been  heard ;  at  eleven,  still  nothing ;  and  the 
President,  having  consulted  his  colleagues,  suspended  the 
sitting  for  an  hour. 

The  streets  were  illuminated  ;  ^  the  crowd  was  as  gay  as  if 
it  were  Sunday.  At  the  Opera,  Castor  et  Pollux  was  filling 
the  house  to  overflowing,  while  the  Theatre  de  la  Nation  was 
giving  Brutus  and  Le  Legs}  The  more  daring  among  the 
people  left  their  own  part  of  the  town  and  either  made  their 
way  as  far  as  the  barriers,  or  else  came  to  prowl  round  the 
Assembly  with  a  view  to  picking  up  information ;  but  the 
greater  number  remained  prudently  in  their  own  doorways,  in 
the  fear  of  some  undefined  danger,  such  as  the  sudden  descent 
of  the  Austrians  upon  Paris.  The  population  had  tacitly 
resolved  with  one  accord  to  watch  through  the  night  in  the 
hope  that  something  would  occur,  so  great  was  their  curiosity 
to  know  whether  the  fugitives  would  be  overtaken  before 
reaching  the  frontier;  but  when  at  about  midnight  the 
illuminations  died  down,  they  grew  discouraged,  the  wayfarers 
went  home,  the  doors  were  shut,  and  the  town  went  to  sleep 
as  usual.  Not  a  patrol  was  now  to  be  seen,  not  a  sound  to 
be  heard;  but  still,  like  a  watchful  sentinel,  the  Assembly 
obstinately  held  to  its  permanence.  In  the  cafes  of  the 
Manege,  or  under  the  trees  of  Les  Feuillants  or  Les  Capucins, 
the  deputies  ate  their  supper,  enjoyed  the  fresh  air,  and  calcu- 
lated the  probabilities  of  the  King's  arrest  and  the  approximate 
hour  at  which  they  could  hear  the  news. 

At  midnight  they  resumed  the  sitting.    This  time  they  had 

^  See  Modeste,  Le  Passage  de  Louis  XVI  cl  Meaux. 
2  La  Feuille  du  Jour. 

174 


COMMISSIONERS   OF  THE  ASSEMBLY 

really  nothing  to  say  to  each  other,  and  no  one  was  brave 
enough  to  produce  the  Penal  Code.  Merle,  one  of  the 
secretaries,  read  the  minutes  of  the  day's  sitting,  which  were 
discussed,  re-read,  corrected,  and  finally  despatched  to  be 
drafted.  In  this  way  they  killed  an  hour.  The  benches  were 
gradually  growing  empty,  and  such  of  the  deputies  as  persisted 
in  keeping  their  seats  were  silent.  They  were  forced  to  listen 
to  the  reading  of  some  more  minutes — those  of  the  sitting  of 
the  20th — and  then  once  more  to  those  of  the  day,  which  were 
languidly  discussed  and  then  sent  off  to  the  printers.  More- 
over, a  representative  of  Tile  de  France  and  the  East  Indies 
took  advantage  of  the  general  lassitude  to  go  into  the  subject 
of  regulating  the  importation  of  articles  from  Madagascar 
into  the  Indies,  and  the  duties  imposed  upon  them.  The 
deputies  listened  to  him  without  emotion.  At  last,  to  keep 
him  quiet,  they  were  about  to  suggest  a  return  to  the  order 
of  the  day,  and  the  Penal  Code  was  on  the  point  of  being 
produced,  when  the  President,  of  his  charity,  suspended  the 
sitting.  It  was  then  half  past  one,  and  by  three  ©""clock  he 
was  again  in  his  chair.  What  is  it  ?  Is  there  any  news  ? 
No,  nothing  is  known  as  yet. 

The  sitting  was  resumed  as  the  awnings  overhead  gleamed 
in  the  first  rays  of  daylight.  Very  few  were  present ;  even 
the  secretaries  were  asleep.  This  is  obvious  from  the  brevity 
of  the  minutes,  which  record  only  one  incident  during  this 
early  morning  sitting.  A  certain  M.  Lucas,  the  deputy  from 
Moulins,  who  was  plainly  much  exasperated,  had  calculated 
that  the  couriers  despatched  in  pursuit  of  the  King  could  not 
reach  the  frontier  in  less  than  four  days,  and  asked  if  it  were 
not  a  matter  of  great  urgency  to  try  more  speedy  means. 
His  motion  fell  flat  amid  the  general  sleepiness. 

"  We  are  going  to  suspend  the  sitting,"***  was  the  President"*s 
reply;  and  on  someone  asking  at  what  hour  the  deputies 
were  to  return,  he  answered  "  that  news  might  arrive  at  any 
moment,  and  that  since  the  Assembly  was  sitting  en  per- 
manence, he  could  do  no  more  than  break  off  its  deliberations 
for  a  time."*"* 

It  was  then  four  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

At  nine  ©""clock  the  deputies  were  again  in  their  places. 

175 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

The  palace  of  the  Tuileries  was  closed  and  guarded ;  in  the 
court  of  the  Louvre  the  workmen  were  still  putting  up  the 
great  altar  for  the  Feast  of  Corpus  Christi  on  the  morrow. 
Timid  souls,  surprised  to  find  themselves  still  at  large, 
gave  credit  for  the  fact  to  the  Assembly,  and  were  not  slow 
to  observe,  "  We  have  no  King ;  nevertheless  we  slept 
well."  The  people  were  now  persuaded  that  the  royal  family 
had  succeeded  in  leaving  France,  and  were  even  surprised 
that  thirty  hours  should  have  gone  by  without  any  certain 
news  of  the  fact.  The  silence  was  inexplicable,  and  there 
were  many  who  fancied,  not  unreasonably,  that  it  threatened 
an  unpleasant  sequel. 

In  the  Assembly  the  absence  of  news  produced  absolute 
stupefaction.  Not  one  of  the  couriers  despatched  on  the  pre- 
vious day  had  reappeared  ;  not  one  had  contrived  to  send  the 
least  information.  How  many  hours  were  they  to  spend  in 
this  state  of  ignorance  ?  How  were  they  to  pass  the  time  during 
their  permanence  ?  Lameth,  at  the  beginning  of  the  sitting, 
announced  a  fact  in  reference  to  the  crown  diamonds  which 
gave  reason  to  believe  that  the  King  and  Queen  had  not  only 
abstracted  none  of  the  treasure  of  which  they  had  the  use, 
but  had  on  the  contrary,  before  their  departure,  returned  all 
the  jewels  that  were  in  their  possession.  The  organisation  of 
the  national  constabulary  was  the  next  subject  that  arose, 
but  the  discussion  languished,  and  the  deputies  only  listened 
for  want  of  something  better  to  do.  They  woke  up  to 
applaud  and  accept  the  invitation  of  the  cure  of  Saint 
Germain  TAuxerrois,  who  requested  them  one  and  all 
to  follow  the  procession  on  Corpus  Christi  Day.  They  then 
left  the  constabulary  and  passed  on  to  the  navy,  which  they 
deserted  in  turn  to  discuss  the  regulation  of  duties  on 
colonial  goods.  The  Assembly  was  absent-minded,  dis- 
tracted, enervated  ;  and  it  was  amid  the  hum  of  conversation 
that  Roussillon,  in  the  name  of  the  Committee  of  Agri- 
culture, retailed  the  substance  of  the  thirty-five  articles  of 
the  tariff  of  colonial  produce:  "To  be  exempt  from  all 
duties :  bullocks,  bacons,  butters,  and  salted  salmons,  and 
also  imported  candles." 

No  one  interrupted  him ;  no  one  listened  to  him.     It  was 

176 


COMMISSIONERS   OF  THE  ASSEMBLY 

midday,  and  still  no  news  had  arrived.  Those  whose  im- 
patience led  them  to  make  continual  journeys  to  the  Com- 
mittee of  Inquiries  brought  back  with  them  the  most  baffling 
information.  The  King  was  at  Aulnai,  near  Paris,  in  the 
house  of  a  loyal  brewer  named  M.  Acloque.^  A  moment 
later  came  the  news  that  the  royal  family  had  arrived  at 
Metz,  that  the  Comte  d'Artois  was  preparing  to  cross  the 
frontier  at  the  head  of  40,000  men,  "  but  that  he  would  wait 
till  August,  to  avoid  creating  a  rising  among  the  peasants  by 
destroying  the  crops.""  *^  At  about  one  o'clock,  however,  a 
persistent  rumour  was  spread  abroad  that  a  courier  had  just 
arrived  at  the  Guildhall,  bringing  the  official  news  of  the 
King's  arrest  at  Lille.  An  usher  was  despatched,  and 
returned  with  a  letter  from  Bailly.  "  The  same  rumour  is 
being  circulated  at  the  Guildhall,  where  it  is  reputed  to  have 
come  from  the  Assembly :  both  versions  are  equally  false."  * 
And  the  sitting  proceeded  in  profound  melancholy.  Tronchet 
introduced  at  some  length  a  bill  concerned  with  "  the  accumu- 
lation of  tithes  and  harvest  dues,*"  which  was  soon  dropped  in 
order  that  the  form  of  oath  adopted  by  the  Military  Com- 
mittee might  be  read.  This,  at  all  events,  was  of  interest. 
One  by  one  there  stepped  on  to  the  platform  all  the  deputies 
who  had  any  right  whatever  to  be  considered  as  belonging  to 
the  army,  as  well  as  all  the  Knights  of  St.  Louis.  Beauharnais 
was  the  first  to  repeat  the  formula  and  take  the  oath,*  and 
after  him  each  man  mounted  the  steps,  extended  his  hand, 
and  said, "  I  swear  it !  "^  About  a  hundred  members  filed  up 
in  this  way,  amid  the  hearty  cheers  of  their  colleagues ;  and 
then,  this  interlude  being  over,  it  became  necessary,  in  the 

^  Archives  of  the  Record  OflBce  of  the  Court  of  Orleans. — Bimbenet, 
1st  edition,  p.  204. 
2  Bimbenet,  Ist  edition,  p.  205. 

*  Bailly  adds  :  **  The  people,  however,  are  persuaded  that  they  are  true, 
and  the  General  Council  has  just  requested  all  the  deputies  of  sections  who 
were  at  the  Guildhall  to  return  to  their  o\vn  districts  and  use  the  promptest 
measures  to  persuade  the  people  of  their  mistake. " 

*  This  was  the  formula :  "  I  swear  to  employ  the  arms  placed  in  my 
hands  for  the  defence  of  my  country,  and  to  maintain  against  all  enemies, 
domestic  and  foreign,  the  Constitution  established  by  decree  of  the  National 
Assembly.  I  swear  to  die  rather  than  submit  to  the  invasion  of  French 
territory  by  foreign  troops,  and  to  obey  no  orders  but  those  given  in 
accordance  with  the  decrees  of  the  National  Assembly." 

177  N 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

absence  of  any  other  occupation,  to  return  "  to  the  accumu- 
lation of  tithes  and  harvest  dues.*"  At  three  o'clock  the 
sitting  was  suspended,  to  be  resumed  at  half  past  five.  And 
still  there  was  no  news.  An  hour  was  passed  in  listening  to 
a  report  on  the  abolition  of  export  duties,  and  another  in 
discussing  the  idea  of  an  address  to  the  French  nation. 

Weariness,  boredom,  impatience,  and  above  all  the 
consciousness  of  their  own  impotence  and  inaction,  combined 
to  cause  disruption  in  the  Assembly.  Dauchy  had  replaced 
the  exhausted  Beauharnais  in  the  President's  chair ;  Chabroud 
had  replaced  Dauchy.  At  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening,  having 
worn  out  their  powers  of  endurance,  the  members  obtained 
another  suspension  of  the  sitting,  and  repaired  to  the  awnings 
of  the  restaurants  near  the  entrance  of  the  Riding  School,  or 
to  Beaumaine's,  or  the  Cafe  au  Perron,  or  to  the  confectioners 
of  Les  Feuillants,  or  to  Pascal's.  A  few  only  of  the  deputies, 
prostrate  with  fatigue,  remained  on  their  benches  in  the 
deserted  hall,  where  four  chandeliers  furnished  with  tapers 
like  church  candles  produced  a  very  inadequate  light,  ^  and 
cast  great  gloomy  shadows  into  the  corners  and  under  the 
galleries. 

Suddenly  the  wooden  passages  echoed  to  the  sound  of  a 
multitude  of  footsteps  ;  clamorous  voices  were  heard  below, 
crying,  "  The  King  is  taken  !  The  King  is  taken  ! "  Every 
door  was  burst  open,  and  the  excited  deputies  rushed  into  the 
hall,  running  hither  and  thither,  bestriding  the  benches,  and 
calling  out  from  the  floor  to  the  public  galleries,  "  He  has 
been  arrested  ! "  Chabroud,  the  President,  hastily  climbed  into 
his  seat.  Then  from  the  agitated  group  at  the  foot  of  the 
platform  two  couriers  emerged  for  one  moment ;  two  dusty, 
bewildered,  and  haggard  men  were  pushed  and  hustled  and 
carried  off  their  feet,  and  having  laid  some  papers  on  the 
secretaries'  table,  disappeared  instantly,  borne  off  by  the 
crowd  amidst  cheers  and  shouts.  Then  there  fell  a  sudden 
silence.  The  President  was  on  his  feet,  and  every  motionless 
head,  every  gaping  mouth,  every  eye  was  turned  towards 
him. 

"  I  have  just  received,"  he  said,  "  a  packet  containing 
'  Brette,  Le  local  des  assemhUea  parlementaires. 

178 


COMMISSIONERS  OF  THE  ASSEMBLY 

several  documents,  the  contents  of  which  I  am  about  to 
communicate  to  the  Assembly.  Before  the  reading  begins  I 
beg  that  it  may  be  heard  in  the  most  profound  silence,  and  I 
request  that  the  public  will  give  no  sign  of  approval  or 
disapproval."" 

Already  one  of  the  secretaries  had  risen  with  a  paper  in 
his  hand.     He  read  as  follows  :  — 


Letter  from  the  Municipal  Officers  of  Varennes. 

"  Gentlemen,  in  our  present  state  of  alarm  we  authorise 
M.  Mangin,  a  surgeon  of  Varennes,  to  set  off  on  the  spot  to 
inform  the  National  Assembly  that  his  Majesty  is  here,  and 
to  entreat  them  to  instruct  us  as  to  the  action  we  should 
take,  this  21st  June  1791.— The  Municipal  Officers  of 
Varennes."" 

And  where  is  Varennes  ?  In  Argonne,  it  appeai-s  ;  in  the 
Verdun  direction,  ten  leagues  from  the  frontier.  This  cry  of 
distress,  this  agonised  appeal  from  the  little  town  with  the 
unknown  name,  the  thought  of  the  dangers  that  threatened  it 
and  of  the  tragedies  that  perhaps  had  stained  its  streets  with 
blood  during  the  twenty-four  hours  since  the  letter  was 
written,  the  impossibility  of  sending  it  immediate  help,  the 
general  feeling  of  alarm,  bewilderment,  and  surprise,  all 
tended  to  enhance  the  significance  of  this  last  event,  this 
moving  chapter  that  had  just  been  added  to  the  romance  of 
the  Revolution.  As  they  listened  the  nerves  of  the  whole 
Assembly  became  quite  unstrung  by  emotion.  The  next 
paper  to  be  read  was  the  official  report  of  the  episode  at 
Sainte-Menehould,  of  the  passing  of  the  berline  and  the 
disarmament  of  the  dragoons ;  then  a  copy  of  de  Bouille"*s 
orders  with  regard  to  the  disposition  of  the  troops;  and 
finally  the  following  address  from  the  municipality  of  Clermont- 
en- Argonne,  which  rang  like  a  tocsin  and  set  every  heart 
trembling  : — 

"  Some  persons  of  the  highest  importance  have  just  been 
arrested  at  Varennes.  That  town  and  the  town  of  Clermont 
are  full  of  troops,  and  the  National  Guard  of  Clermont  has 

179  N  2 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

prevented  them  from  leaving  the  town.  But  lose  no  time — 
come  to  our  help  !  Other  troops  are  on  the  point  of  arriving. 
Our  country  is  in  danger.  The  dragoons  are  patriots.  Come 
without  loss  of  time." 

The  whole  Assembly  was  in  an  uproar.  The  much-feared 
catastrophe  had  happened,  then :  civil  war  was  upon  them ; 
at  that  very  moment  the  peasants  of  Argonne  were  fighting 
with  the  royal  army  !  All  the  members  were  shouting  out 
different  suggestions  at  the  same  moment.  "  Recall  Bouille !  *" 
"  Close  the  barriers  ! ''"'  "  Prepare  for  a  siege  !  "  While  this 
noise  was  going  on,  Chabroud  left  the  Presidents  chair, 
and  was  replaced  by  d'Andre,  who  suspended  the  sitting  at 
eleven  o''clock  at  night.  And  when  at  midnight  it  was 
resumed,  the  Assembly  met  calmly,  and  almost  silently,  so 
absorbed  were  the  members  in  their  own  thoughts.  This 
miracle  had  been  effected  by  some  words  of  Toulongeon.  "  We 
are  perhaps,"  he  had  said,  "  living  through  the  most  painful 
and  solemn  moment  that  history  has  ever  commemorated  in 
the  annals  of  a  nation ! "  A  decree  to  the  following  effect 
was  passed  unanimously  :  "  That  the  most  urgent  and  active 
measures  shall  be  taken  to  protect  the  person  of  the  King,  of 
the  heir  presumptive  to  the  throne,  and  of  the  other  members 
of  the  royal  family.  For  the  furtherance  of  this  object,  MM. 
La  Tour-Maubourg,  Petion,  and  Barnave  shall  repair  to 
Varennes,  and  any  other  place  to  which  it  shall  be  necessary 
to  proceed,  with  the  style  and  authority  of  Commissioners 
of  the  National  Assembly.  They  shall  be  accompanied  by 
M.  Dumas,  Adjutant-General  of  the  Army,  charged  to  execute 
their  orders." 

The  three  members  named  came  down  from  their  benches, 
bowed  to  the  President,  and  quickly  left  the  hall.  They 
were  followed  by  cheers,  for  the  choice  of  Commissioners  met 
with  universal  approval :  Barnave — eloquent,  shrewd,  zealous  ; 
La  Tour-Maubourg — attractive  and  good-looking,  a  liberal 
royalist ;  Petion — very  popular,  vigorous  and  handsome,  a 
man  of  advanced  opinions.  Each  of  them  represented  a 
section  of  the  dominant  party  in  the  Assembly,  and  all  three 
were  young  and  full  of  zeal  and  ambition.  Petion,  the  eldest  of 
them,  was  not  yet  thirty-eight,  while  Barnave  was  but  thirty. 

180 


COMMISSIONERS   OF  THE  ASSEMBLY 

They  had  left  the  Assembly  at  half-past  twelve,  and  two 
hours  later  Petion"'s  name  was  announced  to  La  Tour-Mau- 
bourg,  whose  house  in  the  Rue  Saint-Dominique  had  been 
fixed  upon  as  the  meeting-place.  Baniave  had  not  yet 
arrived.  But  Duport  the  Minister  and  General  Lafayette 
were  there,  as  well  as  a  deputy  from  Moulins  named  Tracy, 
and  they  entered  into  conversation.  "  What  will  be  done 
with  the  King  ?  Will  he  be  shut  up  ? ''  said  one.  "  Will  he 
go  on  reigning.?""  asked  another.  "Will  he  be  given  a 
Council  ? ""  All  were  agreed  that  "  the  fat  pig  was  a  gi-eat 
embarrassment.""  ^ 

Lafayette  "made  jokes  and  chuckled,""  but  Duport  was 
more  reserved.  Petion,  who  knew  Maubourg  by  sight  only, 
was  silent  and  rather  distrustful.  It  was  four  o'^clock  before 
Barnave  appeared,  and  it  was  in  broad  daylight  that  the 
three  Commissioners  drove  off  in  the  same  carriage,  with  two 
ushers  on  the  box,  pausing  in  the  Rue  Thevenot  to  pick  up 
Adjutant-General  Mathieu  Dumas.  The  streets  of  Paris  were 
8istir  as  they  passed  through  the  Faubourg  Saint- Martin  and 
reached  the  barrier  of  La  Villette.  Here  there  was  a  short 
halt,  for  the  National  Guard  was  allowing  no  one  to  leave  the 
town,  and  for  a  moment  it  seemed  as  though  the  deputies 
would  be  obliged  to  retuni  as  they  came,  by  reason  of  the 
Assembly"'s  own  decree.  After  an  explanation,  however,  the 
gates  were  opened  and  the  carriage  dashed  through  the 
barrier. 

The  weather  was  glorious,  and  the  road  was,  so  to  speak, 
alive.  For  now,  in  every  village  and  every  isolated  farm,  it 
was  known  that  the  King  had  fled  and  had  been  arrested. 
Between  every  two  posting-houses  on  the  high-road  there  was 
a  constant  ebb  and  flow  of  couriers,  express  messengers,  and 
idlers,  while  the  peasants  stood  at  their  doors  and  stared. 
At  every  halting-place  the  carriage  of  the  Commissioners 
of  the  Assembly  was  heralded,  expected,  surrounded,  and 
greeted  with  applause  ;  the  ostlers  showed  their  zeal,  and  the 
postillions  sprang  into  the  saddle  joyously  and  took  a  pride 
in  keeping  up  a  good  pace.  At  nine  o"*clock  in  the  morning 
^  Potion's  Relation  du  Voyage, 

181 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

the  Commissioners  drove  into  La  Ferte-sous-Jouarre — sixteen 
leagues  from  Paris — over  the  Pont  de  la  Mame.  At  the 
entrance  to  the  town  their  carriage  was  stopped,  for  the 
Corpus  Christi  procession  was  coming  out  of  the  church. 
They  alighted,  therefore,  and  waited  till  it  had  filed  past ; 
after  which  they  repaired  to  a  hotel  and  breakfasted  while 
the  horses  were  being  changed.  The  corporation  of  the 
town  came  to  welcome  them,  and  informed  them  that  the 
royal  family  had  spent  the  night  at  Chalons,  and  were  being 
brought  back  to  Paris  by  the  Epeniay  road,  escorted  by  a 
crowd  of  peasants  and  national  guards.^ 

Leaving  the  turning  to  Montmirail  on  the  right,  they 
pursued  their  way  along  the  road  to  Chateau  Thierry,  chang- 
ing their  couriers  at  short  intervals.  In  the  villages  the 
people  were  preparing  to  go  out  in  carts  to  see  the  sights, 
while  others  banded  together  and  started  on  foot.  The 
road,  indeed,  had  the  appearance  of  a  much  frequented 
street.  Pleasure  and  enthusiasm  reigned  throughout  that 
beautiful  and  rich  valley  of  the  Marne,  where  during  the 
midday  heat  of  summer  the  glorious  day  seems  to  scatter 
seeds  of  sunshine ;  and  along  all  the  white  paths  that  wound 
across  the  burning  plains  were  bands  of  country  folk,  raising 
the  dust  in  clouds  in  their  haste  to  reach  the  high-road. 

At  midday  the  Commissioners  were  at  Chateau  ThieiTy,  and 
at  about  three  o'clock  they  reached  Dormans,  a  big  village 
where  the  main  street  was  flanked  on  both  sides  by  houses  of 
a  respectable  middle-class  appearance.  Here  they  stopped  at 
the  Hotel  du  Louvre,  a  large  low  hostelry  near  the  circular 

1  "La  Fert^-sous-Jouarre,  Thursday,  nine  o'clock.  Monsieur  le  President, 
we  learn  that  the  King  and  those  who  are  with  him  spent  last  night  at 
Chalons,  whither  they  were  led  and  escorted  by  an  army  of  national  guards, 
who  hastened  from  the  neighbouring  departments  immediately  the  news 
of  the  King's  presence  at  Varennes  became  known  to  them ;  we  hope  to 
meet  him  this  evening.  In  the  course  of  our  journey  we  have  given  the 
strictest  orders  to  secure  his  safe  and  peaceable  return,  and  we  have  been 
heartily  supported  by  the  local  arrangements.  Everywhere  the  King's 
departure  has  made  the  same  impression  as  in  Paris.  The  bearing  of  the 
people  is  quiet  and  proud  ;  we  have  received  endless  proofs  of  their 
confidence,  and  of  their  respect  for  the  National  Assembly.  We  have  the 
honour  to  be.  Monsieur  le  President,  your  very  humble  and  very  obedient 
servant  [sic],  Petion,  Barnave,  La  Tour-Maubourg. "  Archives  of  the 
Record  Office  of  the  Court  of  Orleans.  A  facsimile  of  this  document 
was  published  by  Bimbenet  in  his  first  edition. 

182 


POTION. 

From  an  unpublished  Drawing  by  Labadye,  1790. 


OF  THE 

IVERSITY 

OF 
^L/FORNli 


COMMISSIONERS   OF  THE   ASSEMBLY 

space  where  the  Mayor's  house  stood,  which  was  at  the  entrance 
to  the  little  town  on  the  side  nearest  Paris. 

Here,  as  Barnave,  Petion,  Maubourg,  and  Dumas  were  pre- 
paring to  dine,  surrounded  by  interested  spectators,  a  con- 
tinual stream  of  couriers  poured  in,  bearing  alarming  rumours. 
"  De  Bouille's  army  is  flying  to  the  King's  rescue ;  cavalry  has 
been  seen  on  the  hills  above  the  Mame ;  the  band  of  patriot 
volunteers  who  are  bringing  back  the  royal  berline  by  forced 
marches  is  worn  out,  and  in  no  fit  state  to  resist  an  attack 
from  seasoned  troops ;  the  King  may  be  taken  out  of  their 
hands  at  any  moment;  Varennes  is  destroyed,  and  the  in- 
habitants massacred ;  the  whole  country  has  risen  to  repulse 
the  enemy,  and  it  would  appear  that  the  little  town  of 
Epemay,  where  he  has  stopped  for  the  moment,  is  to  be  the 
scene  of  the  encounter." 

Although  this  information  seemed  very  improbable,  and  a 
wild-goose  chase  of  the  kind  on  the  part  of  de  Bouille  would 
have  no  chance  of  success,  the  Commissioners  contented  them- 
selves "  with  eating  a  morsel  and  drinking  a  glass  standing,"  and 
hastened  on  their  way.  Their  pace,  after  they  left  Dormans, 
was  slower  than  before,  so  greatly  was  the  road  obstructed 
with  villagers  who  had  hurried  out  on  hearing  that  de 
Bouille's  uhlans  were  approaching.  These  were  the  heroic 
peasants  of  Champagne,  whose  ardour  was  still  uncooled  a 
quarter  of  a  century  later,  at  the  time  of  the  great  invasions 
that  formed  the  epilogue  to  this  drama  that  was  now 
beginning.  They  all  came  forth  boldly  in  a  body,  these  good 
folk  whose  simplicity  and  ignorance  were  proverbial,  "  bring- 
ing with  them  the  old  men,  the  women,  the  children,"  armed 
with  pitchforks  and  pruning-hooks,  flails,  spits,  swords,  and 
old  muskets.  They  were  as  gay  as  a  wedding-party.  Hus- 
bands embraced  their  wives,  saying,  "  Well,  well,  if  it  is 
necessary  we  will  go  to  the  frontier  and  kill  that  rascal !  Ah, 
we  shall  catch  him,  let  them  do  what  they  will ! " 

They  ran  as  quickly  as  the  Commissioners'  carriage,  cheer- 
ing and  shouting  '*  Vive  la  Nation  r  The  deputies  in  their 
post-chaise  were  "amazed  and  touched,"  and  passed  on 
bowing  and  smiling. 

Petion  tells  us  that  their  conversation  was  of  "  indifferent 

183 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

matters.*"  This  extraordinary  affair  of  Varennes,  in  its  various 
aspects,  seems  to  have  been  an  epitome  and  symbol  of  the 
whole  impending  Revolution.  Here  was  the  inept  and 
vanquished  and  humiliated  monarchy,  with  its  mask  of 
resignation,  being  dragged  as  a  prisoner  to  the  feet  of  its 
victorious  rival  the  Assembly,  while  the  latter  had  despatched 
thi-ee  of  its  members,  three  only,  of  whom  each  represented 


POSTING-HOUSE  AT  DOBMANS. 


one  of  those  parties  whose  relentless  struggles  were  soon  to 
tear  the  country  to  pieces :  a  royalist,  a  constitutionalist,  a 
republican ;  the  Right,  the  Centre,  the  Left ;  la  Plaine,  le 
Marais,  la  Montagne.  These  three,  as  they  sat  knee  to  knee 
in  their  carriage,  in  circumstances  so  conducive  to  the  out- 
pourings of  fraternity — a  word  that  was  on  their  lips  every 
moment — were  watching  each  other,  spying  upon  each  other, 
suspicious  and  uncommunicative ;  and  this  comedy,  with  all 
its  underlying  pettiness,  was  enacted  in  the  full  light  of 
day,  amid  the  simple-hearted  enthusiasm  of  a  people  who 

184 


COMMISSIONERS  OF  THE  ASSEMBLY 

were  so  obstinate  in  their  credulity  and  so  much  excited  by 
promises  that  twenty-five  years  of  massacres,  wars,  and  misery 
were  hardly  enough  to  disillusion  them. 

The  three  deputies,  then,  abstained  from  sharing  their 
thoughts  with  each  other.  There  was  one  moment,  however, 
when  they  went  so  far  as  to  mention  the  King.  All  the  three 
agreed  that  "  he  was  a  fool  who  had  allowed  himself  to  be 
carried  away,  and  that  he  must  be  treated  as  an  imbecile  *" — 
when  Petion  surprised  Bamave  exchanging  with  Maubourg 
"  one  of  those  signs  that  express  understanding  with  those  to 
whom  one  makes  them,  and  mistrust  of  those  by  whom  one 
does  not  wish  to  be  detected.*" 

After  this  they  avoided  the  subject  of  politics  and  resorted 
to  pleasantries.  Dumas,  as  he  rode  beside  the  carriage,  played 
at  being  a  soldier,  sweeping  the  horizon  and  elaborating 
tactics  with  a  great  air  of  strategical  knowledge.  "  If  de 
Bouille  were  to  arrive,""  he  pointed  out,  "  he  could  only  come 
up  from  that  direction  ;  he  could  be  checked  in  that  defile, 
and  his  cavalry  would  be  unable  to  act.""  He  even  carried  out 
a  manoeuvre,  reviewing  the  National  Guard  of  one  of  the 
villages  with  great  solemnity,  and  then  returned  to  his  com- 
panions, who  were  deriving  much  amusement  from  his  mili- 
tary pretensions.  The  village  militias  accepted  him  quite 
seriously  as  a  warrior,  and  he  himself  was  the  first  to  laugh 
at  their  confidence  in  him.  This  is  an  example  of  the  con- 
trast— a  contrast  so  striking  that  it  never  fails  to  be  sur- 
prising— between  the  official  pomposity  of  the  heroes  of  the 
Revolution  and  the  gaiety  of  their  behaviour  in  private. 
Whenever  one  chances  upon  them  behind  the  scenes,  without 
buskins  or  mask,  one  finds  them  so  young  and  so  engaging  in 
their  moods,  so  full  of  the  love  of  life  and  the  joy  of  adven- 
ture, that  they  really  seem  to  be  overcome  with  amusement — 
there  is  no  other  word — at  the  catastrophes  for  which  they 
are  responsible  and  the  hurricane  that  is  whirling  them  off 
their  feet. 

It  was  seven  o''clock  in  the  evening ;  the  sun  had  hardly 
begun  to  sink  behind  the  forest  of  Ris,  and  the  heat  was 
overpowering.  Beyond  the  villages  of  Troissy  and  Mareuil- 
le-Port  the   undulating  road  passes  between  some  hills    on 

185 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

the  right  and  the  river  Marne,  and  on  the  other  side  of  the 
river,  in  the  distance,  the  landscape  is  bounded  by  a  long 
slope,  clothed  with  great  expanses  of  green,  the  dull  green 
of  the  chalky  vineyards  of  Champagne,  intersected  by  white 
cliffs  and  crowned  by  shaggy  woods.  The  number  of  couriers 
multiplied,  all  heralding  the  approach  of  the  royal  procession, 
as  the  deputies'*  carriage  passed  through  the  hamlet  of 
Port-a-Binson,  while  the  people  who  stood  at  the  doors 
shouted,  "  The  King  is  coming  !  "     For  another  half-league 


THE  FARM  OF  LE  ChIiNE-FENDU. 


the  Commissioners  journeyed  on  between  the  lines  of  peasants 
who  had  settled  down  comfortably  by  the  roadside,  seated  on 
the  bank,  with  their  feet  in  the  ditch ;  then  they  heard  a 
distant  uproar,  and  saw  every  head  turned  in  the  same 
direction,  towards  a  spot  where  a  great  cloud  of  dust  was 
rising.  At  the  hamlet  of  La  Cave,  a  little  cluster  of  decrepit, 
tottering  cottages,  some  national  guards  came  up  to  the 
Commissioners'*  carriage,  which  was  now  proceeding  at 
a  foofs  pace  between  the  double  ranks  of  the  impatient 
crowd. 

"  Gentlemen,  here  is  the  King  !  '"*  they  said. 

A  compact  mob  blocked  the  road  and  overflowed  into  the 
side-lanes  and  fields  as  far  as  the  Marne,  which  flows  near 
the  highway  at  that  point ;  a  tumultuous,  disorderly  mob  of 
about  two  thousand  men :  national  guards  in  a  variety  of 

186 


COMMISSIONERS   OF  THE   ASSEMBLY 

uniforms,  some  in  blouses,  some  in  guernseys ;  some  on  horse- 
back, some  on  foot,  some  crowded  into  carts ;  dishevelled, 
perspiring,  thirsty,  dusty,  triumphant.  On  the  left  of  the 
road  was  a  farm,^  with  its  gateway  and  the  dovecote  above 
it  set  crookedly  in  the  wall ;  and  here  at  the  foot  of  a  little 
declivity  was  the  royal  berline,  standing  with  its  doors  open, 
in  the  midst  of  that  seething  rabble.  It  had  all  the  appear- 
ance of  a  wreck  in  a  storm. 

The  three  Commissioners  alighted.  The  ushers  preceded 
them,  and  all  heads  were  uncovered.  "  Room  !  Silence ! 
Here  are  the  deputies  of  the  National  Assembly  ! "  A  passage 
was  made  for  them  through  the  crowd,  and  they  approached 
the  door  of  the  berline,  whence  a  confused  noise  was  issuing. 
The  Queen,  in  a  state  of  great  agitation  and  distress,  and 
with  tears  in  her  eyes,  leant  forward : 

"  Messieurs !  Messieurs !    Ah,  M.  de  Maubourg !  *" 

1  The  farm  of  Le  Ch6ne-Fendu. 

It  is  not  easy  to  be  sure  of  the  exact  spot  where  the  Commissioners  of 
the  Assembly  met  the  royal  berline  ;  the  evidence  of  the  eye-witnesses  is 
not  consistent.  '*  At  Port-^-Buisson"  (sic),  writes  the  King  in  his  journal, 
"At  a  spot  a  league  or  a  league  and  a  half  from  Epemay,  on  a  very 
beautiful  road,"  says  Potion.  '*  Between  Dormans  and  Epemay,  about  a 
quarter  of  a  league  before  reaching  Epernay,"  repoi-ted  Barnave  to  the 
Assembly  on  the  25th  June.  **  Between  Epemay  and  Dormans,"  observes 
Valory.  This  also  is  what  Madame  de  Tourzel  writes.  These  indications, 
it  will  be  seen,  are  more  or  less  vague,  and  almost  contradictory. 

I  think  we  must  attach  more  importance  to  the  words  of  Mathiea 
Dumas.  He  was  the  tactician  in  the  afifair,  and  in  that  capacity  must 
have  examined  the  country  more  attentively  than  his  companions  ;  more- 
over, the  information  he  gives  is  fairly  precise.  '*  Between  Cfhateau- Thierry 
and  Ch^ons,  two  leagues  beyond  Dormans,  the  carriages  had  stopped  at 
the  foot  of  a  little  hill  where  the  road  approached  the  left  bank  of  the 
Mame."  By  comparing  these  lines  with  the  official  report  of  the  Chalon- 
nais  who  accompanied  the  King — people  belonging  to  the  neighbourhood 
and  knowing  the  country — one  may  come  to  a  fairly  accurate  conclusion  as 
to  the  scene  of  the  meeting.  *'  MM.  Roze  and  Morel,  preceding  the  King," 
says  this  report,  "  had  met,  as  they  were  approaching  the  farm  of  La  Cave, 
MM.  La  Tour-Maubourg,  Barnave,  and  Petion  .  .  .  they  returned  with 
them  to  the  King  .  .  .  etc." 

The  Commissioners  of  the  Assembly  then  had  passed  the  farm  of  La  Cave 
before  meeting  the  King ;  beyond  that  farm  there  is  only  one  spot  where 
the  road  approaches  the  left  bank  of  the  Mame  ;  this  is  by  the  farm  of  Le 
Chene-Fendu,  and  this  farm  stands,  in  agreement  with  Mathieu  Dumas's 
statement,  "  at  the  foot  of  a  little  hill."  It  was  there  that  the  Commis- 
sioners found  the  royal  berline  standing.  One  can  well  understand  that 
the  horde  of  thirsty  pedestrians  who  surrounded  it  had  called  a  halt  as  soon 
as  they  saw  the  Mame  flowing  along  by  the  embankment  of  the  road,  which 
had  not  touched  the  river  since  leaving  Epernay. 

187 


THE  FLIGHT  OF   MATME  ANTOINETTE 

She  spoke  "precipitately,  breathlessly," and  took  Maubourg's 
hand  in  one  of  hers,  while  she  held  out  the  other  to  Barnave. 

"  Ah,  Monsieur,  Monsieur !  I  trust  that  nothing  terrible 
will  happen — that  those  who  came  with  us  will  not  be  made 
to  suffer — that  their  lives  are  not  in  danger ! '''' 

Madame  Elizabeth  pressed  Petion's  arm. 

"  The  King  did  not  intend  to  leave  France."" 

Then  Louis  XVI  in  his  turn  leant  forward. 

•'  No,  gentlemen,"  he  said  volublyj;  "  I  was  not  leaving  the 
country.     I  have  said  so,  and  it  is  true." 

Maubourg  answered  briefly,  while  Petion  confined  himself 
to  repeating  Ah!  and  other  insignificant  words,  "  with  ges- 
tures that  were  dignified  without  being  repellent,  and  gentle 
without  being  affected."  Then,  breaking  off  this  colloquy,  he 
drew  from  his  pocket  the  decree  of  the  Assembly  and  read  it 
to  the  King,  who  listened  to  it  attentively  without  uttering  a 
word ;  after  which,  mounting  on  the  box  of  the  berline,  where 
Maiden,  Valory,  and  Moustier  were  sitting  immovably  in 
their  yellow  liveries,  Petion  read  the  decree  for  -a  second  time 
in  a  very  loud  voice.  The  sea  of  uncovered  heads,  the  awe- 
struck silence,  the  sinking  sun  behind  the  hills  of  Chatillon, 
the  shining,  golden  landscape,  gave  to  this  scene  a  quite 
peculiar  dignity. 

Dumas  immediately  took  the  escort  under  his  command,  and 
ordered  the  procession  to  move  on  ;  and  the  Commissioners 
having  explained  to  the  King  "  that  the  proprieties  of  the 
situation  obliged  them  to  seat  themselves  in  his  carriage," 
Barnave  and  Petion  did  so,  not  without  a  certain  amount  of 
ceremony. 

"  But,  Sire,  we  shall  inconvenience  you — it  is  impossible  that 
we  should  find  room  here  !  " 

And  indeed  the  berline  already  contained  six  travellers ; 
but  the  King  insisted. 

"  Pray  sit  down.  We  will  sit  nearer  to  each  other,  and 
there  will  be  room  for  you." 

He  wished,  moreover,  that  none  of  those  who  were  with  him 
should  leave  him.  He  and  the  Queen,  at  the  back  of  the 
carriage,  drew  apart,  and  Barnave  sat  between  them  in  the 
place  of  the  Dauphin,  whom  the  Queen  took  on  her  knee. 

188 


COMMISSIONERS   OF  THE  ASSEMBLY 

The  front  seat  was  occupied  by  Madame  Elizabeth  and 
Madame  de  Tourzel,  with  Madame  Royale  between  them  ; 
the  latter  now  stood  at  her  governess's  knee,  while  Petion 
sat  facing  Bamave.  As  for  La  Tour-Maubourg,  he  took 
refuge  in  the  cabriolet  with  the  women-of-the-bedchamber. 

In  this  crowded  state  they  started  off,  and  instantly  an 
outburst  of  "chattering""  followed.  "The  King  had  no 
intention  of  leaving  the  kingdom.  The  only  thing  that  was 
really  causing  them  uneasiness  was  the  fate  of  the  three 
bodyguards."  On  these  two  points  the  same  phrases  were 
repeated  ten  times  by  each  person,  the  words  pouring  out 
with  much  volubility  but  little  sequence.  It  was  almost  as 
though  the  theme  had  been  agreed  upon  beforehand.  But 
soon  the  conversation  languished.  Petion  had  never  before 
been  in  the  presence  of  the  royal  family,  and  was  more 
occupied  in  observing  them  than  in  talking.  He  was  struck 
by  the  simple  garments  of  the  travellers,  and  noticed 
that  their  linen  was  very  dirty :  then  raising  his  eyes, 
he  perceived  in  the  netting  of  the  carriage  a  laced  hat,  the 
lackey's  hat  that  had  been  used  by  the  King  in  his  disguise 
and  by  an  oversight  had  not  been  put  out  of  the  way. 

The  intrusion  of  the  Commissioners  had  created  a  certain 
amount  of  embarrassment  among  the  occupants  of  the 
carriage  :  the  Queen  was  persistently  sullen,  and  soon  dropped 
her  veil  and  was  silent.^  It  must  be  admitted  that  Bamave 
had  not  begun  with  noticeable  tact,  for,  being  imbued  with 
the  popular  legend  that  one  of  the  bodyguards  upon  the  box 
was  the  Comte  de  Fersen,  the  Swedish  nobleman  whose 
devotion  to  the  Queen  gave  so  much  occasion  for  scandal,  he 
indulged  in  a  glance  and  smile  that  were  so  full  of  meaning 
as  to  be  almost  sardonic.  Marie  Antoinette  hastened,  with 
perfect  simplicity,  to  give  the  names  of  the  three  guards,  and 
Barnave,   in   sudden    contrition,   became    silent.      Petion's 

1  "The  arrival  of  these  new  travelling  companions  at  first  created 
an  atmosphere  of  gravity  and  embarrassment  in  the  coach.  The  Queen, 
just  at  first,  did  not  feel  at  all  inclined  to  have  anything  to  do  with  them  ; 
she  even  assumed  an  air  of  sulkiness,  dropped  her  veil  over  her  face,  and 
determined  not  to  open  her  mouth  for  the  rest  of  the  journey,  so  as  to  avoid 
speaking  a  word  to  the  Commissioners." — Narrative  of  Fontanges,  in  the 
M6moires  de  Wiher. 

189 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

allusion  to  the  subject  was  coarser  and  more  insolent.  He 
said  he  knew  everything — "that  the  fugitives  near  the 
palace  had  entered   a   hired   carriage   driven   by  a    Swede 

called *"     He   pretended   that   he   could    not  recall   the 

name,  and  asked  it  of  the  Queen,  who  replied  haughtily : 

"  I  am  not  in  the  habit  of  knowing  the  names  of  hired 
coachmen.*" 

As  soon  as  these  first  skirmishes  were  over,  however, 
a  kind  of  cordiality  was  established.  The  King's  simplicity 
and  good-nature  became  evident,  and  the  Queen's  face 
"  cleared." 

She  spoke  naturally  and  simply,^  calling  Madame  Elizabeth 
"my  little  sister,"  and  dancing  the  Dauphin  upon  her 
knee.  Madame  Royale  was  more  reserved,  but  played  with 
her  brother,  while  the  young  prince  was  very  merry,  and 
more  especially  "  very  lively,""  escaping  from  his  mother's 
arms,  and  slipping  between  the  knees  of  the  two  Commissioners 
with  a  roguish  expression  that  had  in  it,  too,  a  touch  of 
confidence  and  a  touch  of  fear.  He  put  a  thousand 
questions  to  "  these  gentlemen,""  and  while  he  was  playing 
with  the  buttons  that  adorned  Barnave"'s  coat  he  discovered 
some  letters,  which  he  spelt  out.  To  live  injreedom  or  to  die 
— such  was  the  motto  engraved,  in  accordance  with  a  fairly 
common  fashion,  on  these  metal  buttons.  He  was  delighted 
at  having  deciphered  the  inscription. 

"  Look,  Mamma,  do  you  see  ? ""  he  said.  "  To  live  in 
freedom  or  to  die."*"*     He  examined  the  others. 

"  Oh,  Mamma,  it  is  on  them  all,  it  is  everywhere  !  To 
live  in  freedom  or  to  die — to  live  in  freedom  or  to  die."*"* 

The  Queen  answered  nothing.  She  gave  no  sign  of 
sadness,  however,  nor  dejection,  but  appeared  full  of  good- 
nature, and  had  "  an  air  of  domesticity  "*"*  that  pleased  Petion, 
while  the  King  looked  on  with  an  expression  of  satisfaction. 
Nevertheless  he  described,  with  much  feeling,  the  murder 
of  M.  de  Dampierre. 

"  It  is  abominable,""  said  the  Queen.  "  M.  de  Dampierre 
did  a  great  deal  of  good  in  his  parish,  and  he  was  assassinated 
by  his  own  villagers." 

*  Narrative  of  Fontanges. 

190 


COMMISSIONERS   OF  THE  ASSEMBLY 

Then  she  related  a  fact  that  had  touched  her  very  nearly. 

"  Could  you  believe  it  ?  I  was  offering  the  leg  of  a  chicken 
through  the  window  to  a  national  guard  who  seemed  to  be 
following  us  with  a  certain  amount  of  attachment.  Well, 
the  people  called  out  to  the  national  guard,  DonH  eat  it! 
Beware  of  it ! — meaning  evidently  that  perhaps  the  chicken 
was  poisoned.  Oh,  I  admit  I  was  indignant  at  such  a 
suspicion  as  that,  and  I  instantly  gave  some  of  the  same 
chicken  to  my  children  and  ate  some  of  it  myself."" 


POSTINO-HOUSS  AT  P0aT-A.-BIN80N. 


Then  leaving  that  subject,  she  hurried  on  to  another  with- 
out a  pause. 

"  We  attended  Mass  this  morning  at  Chalons — but  it  was 
a  constitutional  Mass."" 

Madame  Elizabeth  touched  her  wamingly,  and  Petion, 
who  was  shocked  at  this  kind  of  joke,  remarked  that  it  was 
just  as  well,  since  "  that  sort  of  Mass  was  the  only  sort  that 
the  King  ought  to  hear.*" 

Thus  the  mingling  of  uncongenial  companions  with  the 
consequent  avoidance  of  dangerous  topics,  together  with  the 
fugitives'*  ease  of  mind  now  that  they  were  protected,  had  the 
miraculous  effect  of  making  them  jest  on  the  subject  of  their 
adventure.     Night  had  fallen,  and  the  darkness,  which  was 

191 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

nearly  total  inside  the  berline,  was  more  conducive  to  dialogue 
than  to  general  conversation  :  Barnave,  therefore,  talked  with 
the  Queen,  and  Petion  with  Madame  Elizabeth,  against  whom 
he  was  closely  pressed  on  account  of  the  want  of  space.  The 
carriage  moved  very  slowly,  although  Dumas  had  succeeded 
in  shaking  off  a  portion  of  the  escort,  whom  he  had  posted — 
on  the  pretext  of  checking  the  advance  of  de  Bouille's  army 
— in  a  cool  valley  that  intersected  the  road  and  followed  the 
course  of  the  Ilageot  behind  Mareuil-le-Port.  Here  they 
bivouacked  under  the  willows  and  lit  fires  and  posted  sentries, 
while  the  royal  family,  thus  relieved  of  their  convoy,  were 
able  to  pursue  their  way  towards  Dormans  with  less  fatigue 
than  before. 

The  moon  was  rising  in  a  clear  sky.  Madame  Royale  had 
fallen  asleep  on  her  aunfs  knee,  with  her  head  resting  against 
Petion's  shoulder.  The  latter  was  thus  led  into  a  most  woe- 
ful error.  The  poor  young  man,  who  was  accustomed  to  the 
middle-class  prudery  of  Madame  Petion,  and  was  now  for  the 
first  time  in  contact  with  the  great  ones  of  the  earth,  was 
foolish  enough  to  deceive  himself  in  the  matter  of  Madame 
Elizabeth's  familiarity.  In  her  eyes,  we  may  be  sure,  this 
democrat,  in  so  far  as  he  was  a  man,  had  simply  no  existence  : 
she  thoughtlessly  extended  her  arm  then,  and  as  he  did  not 
draw  back  his  own,  the  two  arms  became  interlaced.  Petion, 
who  was  a  personable  man  and  knew  it,  was  convinced  after 
this  incident  that  the  King's  sister,  struck  by  "  a  thunderbolt," 
felt  for  him  the  most  tender  of  sentiments,  which  she  did  not 
take  the  trouble  to  hide.  ^ 

As  for  his  self-deception,  it  is  a  misfortune  that  has 
happened  to  more  than  one  little  bourgeois  who  has  strayed 
into  society  and  has  mistaken  the  disdainful  unconstraint  of 
fine   ladies    for    indiscretion ;  but    this   misguided    creature 

^  **  Although  Potion  could  not  have  been  ignorant  of  the  distinguished 
virtue  and  extreme  piety  of  Madame  Elizabeth,  he  so  far  forgot  himself  as 
to  make  several  questionable  remarks  to  her,  which  would  have  been  un- 
seemly if  addressed  to  any  ordinary  young  woman  who  had  been  well 
brought  up.  Madame  Elizabeth  pretended  not  to  hear  these  remarks, 
meeting  them  only  with  silence  and  contempt ;  but  when  Potion  had  the 
temerity  to  make  similar  trivial  jokes  on  the  subject  of  piety  and  religion, 
Madame  Elizabeth  retorted  with  great  force  and  energy." — Narrative  of 
Fontanges,  in  the  M4moires  de  W6her. 

192 


COMMISSIONERS   OF  THE  ASSEMBLY 

thought  it  necessary  to  record  the  story  of  his  good  fortune 
in  writing,  and  in  his  account  of  the  return  from  Varennes  he 
has  told  the  tale  in  thirty  lines  which  have  made  him  an 
object  of  ridicule  for  ever.  The  works  of  Petion  have  been 
published  in  four  volumes,  which  no  one,  however,  has  read  or 
will  ever  read.  Of  all  that  he  wrote,  those  thirty  lines  alone 
will  survive,  as  a  monument  to  his  infatuation  and  simplicity. 

And  thus,  while  Bamave  was  talking  to  the  Queen  in  a 
low  voice,  and  Petion  was  thinking  himself  beloved  by  the 
King''s  sister,  and  the  children  were  asleep,  and  the  King  was 
dozing,  the  berline  entered  the  brightly  lighted  town  of 
Dormans,  and  passed  along  the  principal  street  till  it  drew 
up  at  the  farther  end,  before  the  Hotel  du  Louvre,  where  the 
Commissioners  had  stopped  in  the  afternoon.  It  was  eleven 
o'clock  at  night,  but  the  square  before  the  town  hall  and  all 
the  roads  that  converged  towards  it  were  blocked  with  a  roar- 
ing multitude.  There  was  not  one  cry  of  "  Vive  le  Roi ! ""  but 
only  an  unceasing  shout  of  "  Vive  la  Nation !  Vive  TAssemhUe 
Natumale !  *"  varied  occasionally  with  "  Vive  Barnave ! "  and 
"  Vive  Petion  !  *"  The  berline  drove  into  the  yard  of  the  hotel ; 
the  gates  were  then  closed  and  the  keys  given  to  the  Queen. 
Four  men  of  the  National  Guard  of  Dormans  were  posted  as 
sentinels  for  the  night  round  the  carriage.^ 

On  the  first  story  of  the  hotel  a  table  had  been  laid  for 
the  King  and  his  family.  The  Commissioners  of  the 
Assembly  were  invited  by  the  King  to  share  the  meal,  and 
Petion  had  already  seated  himself  unceremoniously  beside  the 
Queen  ^  when  Bamave  modestly  declined  the  honour  that  was 
offered  to  him.  Petion,  therefore  was  obliged  to  rise  from 
the  table  and  go  into  another  room  to  sup  with  his  col- 
leagues.    The  King  sent  them  a  bottle  of  his  own  Tokay.^ 

After  supper,  while  the  royal  family  were  "  making  their 
preparations  for  the  night,""  a  waiter  from  a  coffee-house, 
carrying  refreshments,  entered  the  room  where  they  were.  He 
saw  "  the  King  seated  on  a  little  wicker  arm-chair  in  the  middle 
of  the  room,  the  Queen  sitting  near  the  bed,  against  which  she 

*  Souvenirs  de  Mathieu  Dumas. 

2  Biographie  universel,  article  on  Bamave. 

'  Souvenirs  de  Mathieu  Dumas. 

193  o 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

was  leaning,  the  Dauphin  and  Madame  playing  with  Madame 
de  Tourzel.""  The  youth,  without  saying  a  word,  handed  his 
tray  to  Madame  Elizabeth,  who  raised  her  eyes  and  recognised 
him.  He  was  a  young  surgeon,  named  Jean  Landrieux, 
"  whom  she  had  seen  at  Senart  and  at  Maupertuis.*" 

Jean  explained  that  he  was  the  son-in-law  of  the  Mayor  of 
Dormans,  Jean-Baptiste  Truet,  to  whom  belonged  the  Hotel 


HOUSE,  FORMERLY  THE  LOUVRE  HOTEL,  AT  DORMANS. 

du  Louvre  in  which  they  were  then  staying.  In  concert  with  his 
father-in-law  he  had  devised  a  plan  of  escape,  and  he  entreated 
the  Princess  to  put  the  matter  before  the  King,  who  did  not 
appear  to  be  paying  any  attention  to  him.  The  scheme  was 
quickly  discussed,  and  hope  once  more  revived.  Jean  ex- 
pounded his  plan.  According  to  him,  flight  would  be  easy, 
since  sentinels  had  only  been  posted  at  the  door  of  the  room, 
and  that  room,  which  was  at  the  back  of  the  house,  had  two 
windows  opening  on  the  terraced  garden.  From  the  garden 
a  little  flight  of  steps  led  to  the  river ;  and  thus  it  was 
possible,  without  being  seen,  to  reach  a  boat  that  had  been 
provided  to  carry  the  King  and  his  family  across  the  Mame 
to  Vincelles,  where  Truet  had  a  wine-press.  There  a  cart 
awaited  them,  "  roomy,  well  padded,  covered,  and  furnished 

194 


COMMISSIONERS   OF  THE  ASSEMBLY 

with  three  good  horses.""  He  himself,  without  any  companion, 
would  drive  them  rapidly  to  Fere-en-Tardenois,  where  they 
would  change  horses  at  the  farm  of  a  friend ;  a  second  relay 
would  be  found  at  the  house  of  Forsy,  Jean'^s  brother-in-law, 
in  KAisne ;  by  daybreak  they  would  be  half  way  to  the 
frontier,  which,  as  the  crow  flies,  is  only  twenty-two  leagues 
from  Dormans — five  or  six  hours'  work  for  good  horses. 

The  idea  was  alluring.  The  attempt,  though  not  without 
risks,  might  possibly  succeed ;  and  the  women  were  already 
dreaming  of  safety,  already  imagining  themselves  to  have 
escaped  by  a  conjurer''s  trick  from  that  howling  army  that 
was  keeping  watch  outside  the  house.  But  the  King  refused 
point-blank,  saying  "  that  he  depended  on  his  good  town  of 
Paris ;  that  he  had  only  left  it  against  his  own  judgment  and 
under  the  influence  of  false  representations.'*' 

The  Queen,  who  was  "  leaning  against  the  bed,  rose  quickly 
and  made  it  plain  to  the  King,  with  much  temper,""  how 
deeply  she  felt  the  renunciation  of  this  chance  of  safety.  But 
he  remained  unshaken.  He  then  prepared  to  rest,  and  Jean 
Landrieux  left  the  room.^ 

Bamave  and  Petion  spent  the  night  in  one  bed.  Round 
the  hotel,  in  the  square,  and  in  the  neighbouring  streets  was 
heard  the  roaring  of  the  tumultuous  crowd,^  for  the  popula- 
tion of  the  whole  country  had  flocked  to  Dormans.  The 
supply  of  food  ran  short,  and  a  riot  broke  out,  but  was  quickly 
quelled.  The  people  drank  and  sang  and  danced  country- 
dances,  however,  until  daybreak  ;  and  the  King  only  slept  for 
three  hours  in  an  arm-chair  without  undressing.  The  shouts 
of  "  Vive  la  Nation ! "  and  "  Vive  VAssembUe  Natkmale ! ""  which 
began  with  the  daylight,  made  so  deep  an  impression  upon 
the  Dauphin"'s  mind  that  he  dreamt  he  was  in  a  wood  with 
wolves,  and  that  his  mother  was  in  danger.  He  awoke 
sobbing,  and  could  only  be  soothed  by  being  taken  to  the 
Queen'^s  room.  There  he  lay  down  again  and  slept  peacefully 
until  the  time  came  to  leave  the  hotel.^ 

^  From  the  manuscripts  of  Jean  Landrieux.  See  the  Introduction  to 
the  M^moires  de  Jean  Landrieux,  chef-d^itat-majcyr  a  Varmde  d^ltalie,  by 
L^once  Grasilier. 

2  "All  night  it  was  impossible  to  close  one's  eyes  because  of  the  noise 
that  was  going  on  in  the  town." — Madame  de  Tourzel's  Memoirs. 

'  Madame  de  Tourzel's  Memoirs. 

195  o  2 


CHAPTER  VIII 


THE    END    OF   THE   JOURNEY 


At  five  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  Friday  the  24th  of  June 
Dumas  and  the  three  Commissioners  held  a  review  of  the 
National  Guards  on  the  Paris  road,  where  they  were  received 
with  loud  cheers ;  and  before  six  o'clock,  in  sparkling  sun- 
shine, the  royal  family  seated  themselves  in  their  berline.^ 
This  time  Petion  sat  on  the  back  seat,  between  the  King  and 
Queen,  while  Barnave  was  in  front,  between  Madame 
Elizabeth  and  Madame  de  Tourzel.  The  King,  who  had  no 
doubt  been  prompted,  made  efforts  at  conversation.  He 
asked  if  Petion  had  any  children,  to  which  the  deputy  replied 
that  he  had  a  son  a  little  older  than  the  Dauphin.  Then, 
since  Petion,  in  his  character  of  Stoic  philosopher,  desired 
to  lose  no  opportunity  of  giving  a  lesson  to  the  monarch,  he 
called  upon  his  royal  interlocutor  to  admire  the  lovely  valley 
of  the  Marne,  which  lay  below  them  in  all  its  luxuriant 
beauty  as  they  followed  the  road  along  the  hillside. 

"  What  a  fine  country  ! "  he  said.  "  There  is  no  kingdom 
in  the  world  that  can  be  compared  to  it !  " 

The  allusion,  however,  was  lost  upon  Louis  XVI,  who  was 
absorbed  in  his  Itinerary  and  his  maps,  referring  to  them 
with  the  greatest  diligence,  and  remarking  at  intervals : 

"  We  are  now  in  such-and-such  a  department,  in  such-and- 
such  a  district,  in  such-and-such  a  place." 

1  "  M.  Truet,  Mayor  of  Dormansin  1791,  distinguished  himself  by  paying 
his  respects  to  the  King,  who  gave  him  his  hand  to  kiss,  and  by  supplying 
the  unhappy  monarch  on  his  way  back  from  Varennes  with  a  guard  of 
honour  for  his  protection." — Esaai  sur  Dormans,  by  the  Abb6  Robech,  1814, 
founded  on  a  manuscript  in  the  Archives  of  Dormans. 

196 


THE   END   OF   THE  JOURNEY 

His  face,  nevertheless,  was  frigid  and  expressionless  "  to  a 
degree  that  was  really  deplorable,""  and,  to  speak  plainly, 
"  that  mass  of  flesh  appeared  to  have  no  feelings.'*''  He  was 
paralysed,  moreover,  by  his  own  awkwardness.  There  was  one 
moment  when  he  became  natural,  and  spoke  of  the  English 
and  their  industry ;  but  after  delivering  himself  of  a  few 
sentences   he   suddenly  grew  confused    and    reddened    self- 


DOBMANS,   8BXN  fBOM  THE  MARNE. 


consciously.  "  Those  who  do  not  know  him,''  observed  Petion, 
"  might  be  tempted  to  mistake  this  timidity  for  stupidity,  but 
they  would  be  wrong.  It  is  very  seldom  that  he  lets  fall 
anything  ill-timed,  and  I  did  not  hear  him  make  a  single 
remark  that  was  really  silly.*" 

The  Queen,  however,  was  quite  companionable.  She  ex- 
plained her  system  of  education,  nibbling  chicken-legs  the 
while,  and  throwing  the  bones  out  of  the  window;  she 
"  spoke  as  a  mother  and  as  a  fairly  well  educated  woman,*" 
insisting  "  that  character  was  the  important  thing,  and  ex- 
pressing a  hope  that  she  was  credited  with  having  some.'*''  By 
conversing  in  this  way  the  travellers  succeeded  in  ignoring 
the  procession  of  armed  men  who  surrounded  and  followed 
the  carriage,  though  every  attempt  to  lower  the  blinds  had 
been  greeted  with  murmurs  of  dissatisfaction  from  the  mob, 
who  liked  to  keep  the  royal   family   within   sight.     Every 

197 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

moment  faces  were  framed  in  the  window,  staring  with  hungry 
curiosity  into  every  comer  of  the  berline. 

At  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  after  five  leagues  of 
travelling,  they  reached  Chateau-Thierry.  The  crowd  in  the 
suburbs  and  about  the  approaches  to  the  Pont  de  Marne  was 
so  great  that  they  did  not  pause  to  change  horses  till  they 
reached  the  Levee,  a  long  double  avenue  of  trees  that  borders 
the  river  and  separates  it  from  the  huge  triangular  space  of 
the  Champ-de-Mars.  On  the  previous  day  the  municipal 
authorities  had  published  a  prohibition  "  to  address  any 
insult  to  the  royal  family,"  but  nevertheless  some  rough 
voices  were  heard  shouting,  "  Louis,  Toinette  !  come,  show 
your  faces  !  "  and  while  the  carriage  was  at  rest  some  of  the 
people  "  amused  themselves  by  making  the  Dauphin  cry  '  Vive 
la  Nation ! '  which  the  poor  child  did  with  a  good  grace."  ^ 
These  insults,  however,  were  not  altogether  unprofitable  to 
the  captives,  in  that  they  had  the  eff'ect  of  wringing  excuses 
from  the  indignant  Commissioners,  and  further,  of  securing 
freedom  for  one  stage  from  the  perspiring  and  heavy-footed 
escort.  By  Barnave's  order  the  mounted  National  Guard, 
who  had  come  from  Soissons,  barred  the  road  ^  at  the  confines 
of  Chateau-Thierry,  and  thus  the  berline  and  the  cabriolet 
that  followed  it  were  able  to  set  off  at  a  smart  trot,^  sur- 
rounded only  by  a  few  horsemen  who  were  acting  as  staff  to 
General  Mathieu  Dumas.  An  hour  and  a  half  later  they 
stopped  at  the  Ferme  de  Paris,  an  isolated  posting-house  by 
the  wayside.  Vignon  the  postmaster  was  called  upon  to 
supply  thirty-eight  horses,*  a  fact  which  witnesses  to  the  in- 
significance of  the  escort  by  which  the  berline  was  accom- 
panied. Their  journey  was  resumed  without  delay  and  at 
a  good  pace,  the  only  village  they  had  to  pass  before  reaching 
La  Ferte-sous-Jouarre  being  Montreuil-aux-Lions,  which 
they  drove  through  at  full  speed,  leaving  behind  them  rows 
of  disappointed  peasants  who  stood  gaping  in  every  lane. 

^  Histoire  du  Chateau- Thierry,  by  the  Abb6  C.  Porquet,  1839. 

^  "  We  parted  from  the  infantry,  and  only  kept  the  mounted  men  near 
the  King's  person.  By  this  means  our  progress  was  made  much  quicker, 
and  was  continued  with  the  greatest  success  as  far  as  Meaux. " — Barnave's 
Report.  8  Souvenirs  de  Mathieu  Dumas. 

*  National  Archives,  M.  664.  In  November  1791  Vignon  had  not 
succeeded  in  getting  paid. 

198 


THE   END   OF  THE  JOURNEY 

In  the  berline  the  conversation  continued  to  be  "  free  and 
even  gay.""  ^  Petion,  in  answering  the  King's  questions, 
seized  the  opportunity  of  telling  him  "  what  was  thought 
about  the  Court  and  all  the  schemers  who  frequented  the 
palace."  Then  they  spoke  of  the  National  Assembly,  and  of 
the  right  side  and  the  left,  "  but  mth  that  perfect  ease 
that  is  usual  among  friends."  Louis  XVI  followed  the  con- 
versation very  intelligently,  «md  Petion  reproached  him  for 
reading  no  papers  but  those  that  supported  the  aristocrats. 

"  I  assure  you,"  he  answered,  "  I  do  not  read  IS  Ami  du  Roi 
any  more  than  Marat  himself."  ^ 
Then  he  added  with  some  curiosity  : 

"You  are  in  favour  of  a  Republic,  are  you  not,  M. 
Petion.?" 

And  Petion,  already  a,  courtier,  though  he  had  only  been 
breathing  "  the  poisoned  air  of  the  Court  "  for  twenty  hours, 
answered  : 

"Sire,  I  was  so  in  the  Assembly;  here,  I  feel  that  my 
opinion  is  changing."  ^ 

Marie  Antoinette  seemed  to  take  the  liveliest  interest  in 
this  discussion ;  "  she  encouraged  it  and  put  life  into  it, 
making  fairly  shrewd  reflections  rather  mischievously."  *  She 
tried  to  make  Barnave  express  himself  on  the  same  subjects, 
but  he,  with  much  discretion,  abstained  from  giving  his 
opinion,  and  turned  away  his  head. 

"  Pray  tell  M.  Barnave,"  said  the  Queen  laughingly  to 
Petion,  "  not  to  look  out  of  the  window  so  often  when  I  ask 
him  a  question."  ^ 

At  the  entrance  to  La  Ferte-sous-Jouarre,  which  they 
reached  at  about  two  o'clock,  they  were  obliged  to  drive 
slowly  on  account  of  the  hill.  Here  a  closely  packed  crowd 
awaited  the  berline,  and  «is  soon  as  it  appeared  burst  out  into 
shouts  of  "  Vive  la  Nation  I  ^  "  Vive  rJssemblee  !^  "  Vive 
Petion ! "  These  cries,  although  intentionally  insulting,  did 
not  affect  the  King  in  the  least ;  but  the  Queen  was  obviously 

*  Toulongeon,  Histoire  de  France  dejmia  la  B^oliUioUt  Vol.  II.,  p.  38. 

^  Voyage  de  PUion. 

*  Toulongeon,  Hiatoire  de  France  depuia  la  B^volutwn. 

*  Voyage  de  Potion. 

*  Toulongeon,  Histoire  de  France  depuia  la  Revolution. 

199 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

much  wounded,  and  Madame  Elizabeth  even  more  so.  As  for 
the  embarrassed  deputies,  they  did  not  know  how  to  apologise 
sufficiently  for  their  popularity.  In  the  Rue  du  Limon,  the 
main  thoroughfare  of  the  town,  the  crowd,  though  great,  was 
not  hostile — indeed,  it  was  almost  respectful.  The  Mayor  of 
La  Ferte,  Regnard  de  Tlsle,  had  begged  the  royal  family, 
through  a  courier,  to  make  a  short  halt  at  his  house,  which 
invitation  the  King  had  accepted.  The  berline,  then,  turned 
into  the  last  street  on  the  right  before  the  bridge,  where 
Regnard  de  Tlsle's  house  was  approached  by  a  handsome 
gateway.  This  house,  then  recently  built,  was  comfortable 
and  very  large.  It  still  exists,  a  little  decrepit  but  yet  well 
worth  looking  at,  with  its  fine  roofs  of  mossy  slates,  its  high 
windows,  and  small  panes  of  old  glass,  its  two  wings  with  the 
iron  balconies  overhanging  the  Marne,  and  between  them  a 
little  terraced  garden.  The  doors  of  the  ground-floor  open 
upon  this  garden,  and  it  has  a  parapet  that  overlooks  the 
river.  On  the  side  that  faces  the  street  there  is  a  somewhat 
melancholy  courtyard — much  crowded  on  that  particular  day 
— and  in  the  house  an  entrance-hall  containing  the  charming 
staircase  upon  whose  railing  the  Queen's  hand  rested.  The 
large  rooms  on  the  first  story  had  been  set  apart  for  the  royal 
family  to  rest  in,  and  while  the  women-of-the-bedchamber 
were  there  adjusting  the  Queen''s  very  unpretentious  toilet  and 
Madame  de  Tourzel  was  washing  the  children,  Bamave,  Petion, 
and  La  Tour-Maubourg  took  a  stroll  upon  the  terrace.  It 
was  a  cool  spot,  at  some  distance  from  the  prevailing  uproar 
and  sheltered  from  curious  eyes.  Moreover,  it  commanded  a 
charming  view  :  the  green  and  limpid  Marne  against  a  back- 
ground of  tall,  waving  grasses,  the  houses  of  the  Faubourg  de 
Condets  on  the  farther  bank,  and  beyond  them  the  hills  of 
Jouarre. 

Madame  Elizabeth  was  the  first  to  be  ready,  and  joined  the 
Commissioners  on  this  terrace,  where  she  conversed  for  some 
time  with  Petion,  of  whom  she  had  certainly  made  a  conquest. 
"  I  should  be  much  surprised,"  he  writes,  "  if  she  had  not  a 
good  and  beautiful  soul,  though  she  is  deeply  imbued  with  the 
prejudices  of  her  birth  and  spoilt  by  the  vices  of  a  Court 
education."  The  Queen  soon  appeared,  and  walked  a  little  with 

WO 


THE   END   OF   THE  JOURNEY 

Bamave ;  then  the  King  came  down  the  steps,  looking  ex- 
tremely homely  in  his  dirty  shirt  and  the  shaggy  brown  coat 
he  had  travelled  in,  and,  going  up  to  the  deputies,  asked 
them  unceremoniously  if  they  would  give  him  the  pleasure 
of  their  company  at  dinner. 

On  the  bridge  and  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river  a  large 
crowd  had  gathered,  and  were  watching  from  the  distance 
while  this  scene  of  the  historic  drama  was  being  played  out 
in  the  little  garden ;  the  various  individuals  were  hardly  dis- 
tinguishable, but  it  was  easy  to  recognise  the  children,  who 
were  amusing  themselves  by  running  about  while  they  were 
waiting  for  dinner.  The  table  of  the  royal  family  was  laid  in 
one  of  the  rooms  on  the  ground-floor,  but  the  deputies,  having 
declined  the  King's  invitation  in  the  fear  of  appearing  "  sus- 
pects,'** 1  begged  that  they  might  have  their  meal  in  another 
room.  The  dinners  were  "  splendid,"'"'  according  to  Petion  ;  ^ 
"  simple,  but  nicely  served,""  if  one  is  to  believe  Madame  de 
Tourzel.  A  detail  worthy  of  record  is  the  behaviour  of 
Madame  Regnard  de  Tlsle,  who,  although  invited  by  the  King, 
would  not  consent  to  sit  down  at  the  royal  table,^  but,  wearing  her 
best  housewifely  cap,  and  her  bunch  of  keys  hanging  from  the 
band  of  her  apron,*  supervised  everything,  gave  directions  to 
her  servants,  and  herself*  waited  upon  the  Queen,  standing 
behind  her  chair  until  the  dinner  was  at  an  end.  After  the 
meal,  when  the  party  were  again  upon  the  terrace,  M.  Reg- 
nard de  risle  went  up  to  Bamave. 

*  "We  had  a  consultation,  MM.  Maubourg,  Barnave,  and  I,  as  to 
whether  we  should  accept.  This  intimacy,  said  one  of  us,  might  look 
suspicious.  As  it  is  not  in  accordance  with  etiquette,  it  might  be  thought 
that  it  was  because  of  his  unfortunate  position  that  he  had  invited  us.  We 
agreed  to  decline,  and  we  sent  a  message  to  him  that  we  were  obliged  to 
retire  on  account  of  our  correspondence,  which  would  prevent  us  from 
accepting  the  honour  he  did  us." — Voyage  de  Potion.  ^  M^moirea. 

^  '* .  .  .  The  Queen  only  saw  standing  near  her  a  woman  whose  modesty 
of  bearing,  added  to  the  simplicity  of  the  costume  she  had  assumed,  gave 
her  the  appearance  of  wishing  rather  to  ask  for  orders  than  to  give  them, 
and  the  Queen  asked  where  the  mistress  of  the  house  was.  *  The  moment 
the  King  and  the  Queen  honour  a  house  by  entering  it,  they  alone  are  its 
master  and  mistress,'  answered  the  good  woman  instantly." — Histoire  de 
V ]^v4nement  de  Varennes,  by  the  Comte  de  S6ze,  1843. 

*  Souvenirs  de  Mathieu  Dumaa. 

*  **  The  wife  of  the  Mayor,  being  unwilling  from  a  feeling  of  delicacy  to 
eat  with  the  royal  family,  dress^  herself  like  a  cook  and  waited  upon 
them  with  equal  zeal  and  respect. " — Madame  de  Tourzel's  Memoirs. 

201 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

"  If  you  will  allow  it,"  he  said,  "  the  people  will  shout '  Vive 
leRoir''-^ 

At  five  o''clock  Dumas  ordered  the  horses  to  be  harnessed 
and  gave  the  signal  for  the  start.  As  soon  as  the  berline 
appeared  round  the  corner  of  the  street  and  was  about  to 
turn  on  to  the  bridge  the  line  formed  by  the  national  guards 
was  broken  by  the  sudden  surging  of  the  mob,  among  whom 


B^GNABD  DE  L'ISLE'S  HOUSE  AT  FERTfe-SOUS-JOUARRB. 

were  some  Parisians  whose  rage  and  curiosity  had  brought 
them  thither.  In  the  confusion  the  pressure  of  the  crowd 
upon  the  carriage  was  so  great  that  the  Queen  could  not 
repress  a  movement  of  fear.  The  Dauphin  screamed,  where- 
upon a  man  who  was  evidently  much  excited  pushed  through 
the  throng  and  cried  insultingly  : 

"Here's  a  fine  to-do  over  a  brute  of  a  woman  like 
that ! '' 

Petion  put  his  head  out,  and  recognised  Kervelegan,  a 
Breton  deputy,  who  walked  beside  the  carriage  for  a  time, 
talking  to  his  colleagues  with  an  air  of  great  importance. 

"  Are  they  all  there  ?     Be  careful,  for  there  is  still  some 

*  J.  S.  Cazotte,  T6moignage  d^un  roycdiste. 


THE  END   OF   THE  JOURNEY 

talk  of  carrying  them  ofF.  The  people  you  are  with  are  an 
impudent  lot ! "" 

"  What  a  very  unmannerly  person  ! ""  said  the  Queen,  turn- 
ing her  head  away. 

This  was  the  only  incident  of  the  journey  to  Saint- Jean- 
des-deux-Jumeaux,  the  next  posting-place,  where  three  days 
earlier  the  fugitives  had  changed  horses  in  the  early  morning, 
full  of  hope. 

Between  here  and  Meaux,  the  first  houses  of  which  were 
reached  at  about  eight  o'^clock  in  the  evening,  the  perfectly 
straight  road  was  lined  with  spectators  on  both  sides.  In 
Trilport  and  other  villages  the  inhabitants  had  set  up  tables 
before  the  houses,  and  spread  them  with  slices  of  bread  and 
pitchers  of  wine,  beer,  and  water.^  By  the  time  the  procession 
had  passed  there  was  nothing  left.  In  the  tumult  that  greeted 
the  prisoners  the  Parisian  element  was  already  mingled — 
blustering  and  riotous,  with  a  note  of  unbridled  licence — and 
all  along  the  Faubourg  Saint-Nicolas  their  reception  was  one 
unvarying  fire  of  uproarious  sneers  and  insults. 

The  berline  progressed  slowly  and  spasmodically,  being 
subject  to  frequent  stoppages.  Overhead  was  a  leaden  sky  ^ 
and  a  stifling,  stormy  atmosphere  ;  the  narrow  streets  of  the 
old  town  were  blocked  with  a  struggling  mass  of  humanity ; 
the  escort  was  broken  up  and  overpowered  and  scattered  ;  and 
thus  it  was  at  the  mercy  of  the  popular  fury  with  all  its 
dangers  and  caprices  that  the  royal  family,  as  night  fell, 
reached  the  Place  Sainte  Etienne  and  the  precincts  of  the 
cathedral,  beset  by  yells  and  threats.  Here  the  local  national 
guards  were  assembled,  together  with  a  battalion  of  the 
Parisian  guard,  which  had  arrived  during  the  day.^ 

The  carriage  drove  into  the  courtyard  of  the  eviche  and 
drew  up  at  the  foot  of  the  massive  and  austere  square  tower 
that  projects  from  the  fa9ade  of  Bossuet's  palace.  At  the 
windows,  in  the  yards,  on  the  copings  of  the  walls,  in  the 
covered  alleys  of  the  garden  and  the  archways  of  the  pre- 
centory — everywhere,  indeed — there  were   national   guards; 

^  Gompte  rendu  by  Bodan. 

^  See  Modeste,  Le  passage  de  Louis  XVI A  Meaux. 

'  See  Modeste,  Le  passage  de  Louis  X  VI. 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

they  could  be  seen  leaning  against  the  dormer  windows  on 
the  roofs,  poised  on  the  chimney-tops,  and  clinging  to  the 
crumbling  sculptures  of  the*  cathedral,  whose  great  shadowy 
form  loomed  dimly  in  the  twilight,  magnificent  and  grey — 
— the  yellowish-grey  of  the  old  churches  of  La  Brie.  The 
low  door  that  serves  as  entrance  to  the  palace  leads  to  an 
inclined  plane  of  brickwork,  whose  very  steep  slope  takes  the 


THE  BISHOP'S  PALACE  AT  MEAUX. 


place  of  a  staircase.^  Up  this  slope  the  travellers  dragged 
themselves  wearily,  through  the  torchlit  desolation  of  the 
bare,  undecorated  house,  to  the  rooms  that  had  been  hastily 
prepared  for  the  King  and  his  suite. 

For  the  episcopal  palace  had  been  unfurnished  since  the 
departure  of  Monseigneur  de  Polignac,  who  had  been  recently 

^  "  As  she  alighted  from  the  carriage  Madame  de  Tourzel  fainted,  being 
worn  out  with  fatigue.  She  was  carried  into  the  porter's  lodge  of  the 
Bishop's  Palace." — Madame  de  Tourzel's  Memoirs. 

^4 


THE   END   OF   THE  JOURNEY 

replaced  by  a  constitutional  bishop  called  Monseigneur  Thuin. 
In  all  this  great  palace  the  latter  only  occupied  one  very 
poorly  furnished  room,  and  when  the  news  of  the  King*'s 
approach  reached  the  place  there  was  no  resource  but  to  fly 
to  the  Ursuline  convent,  where  Monseigneur  de  Polignac  had 
temporarily  stored  his  furniture.  Thence  two  beds  were 
brought  for  the  King  and  Queen,  while  other  beds  and 
bedding  were  lent  by  obliging  people  of  the  town,  and  thus, 
by  one  means  and  another,  a  kind  of  accommodation  was 
prepared. 

The  first  story  of  the  palace  was  not  then,  as  it  is  now 
divided  into  several  salons ;  it  was  composed  of  a  very  long 
hall,  devoted  to  the  use  of  the  cathedral  chapter,  beyond 
which  there  was  a  single  suite  of  three  large  rooms.  The 
first  of  these,  it  is  said,  was  Bossuefs  drawing-room  ;  another, 
which  contained  an  alcove,  had  two  high  windows  overlooking 
the  garden,  and  this  was  assigned  to  the  Queen  ;  while  the 
third,  in  which  the  King  was  to  sleep,  communicated  with 
both  the  others.  The  first  of  these  rooms  served  as  a  common 
antechamber  to  the  other  two. 

When  the  royal  family  entered  the  chapter-hall,  half-way 
along  which  they  had  to  walk  to  reach  their  own  rooms,  they 
found  that  enormous  apartment  thronged  with  a  crowd  of 
officers  of  every  rank,  of  municipal  magnates,  of  delegates  of 
the  Parisian  guard,  not  to  mention  that  inquisitive  type  of 
person  who  by  dint  of  intriguing  and  pushing  succeeds  in 
penetrating  everywhere  that  there  is  a  sight  to  be  seen.  In 
the  salon  beyond  this  room,  where  three  beds  had  been  set  up 
for  the  bodyguards,  a  table  was  already  laid  for  supper.  The 
Queen,  with  her  daughter  and  Madame  Elizabeth,  shut  her- 
self into  her  room,  while  the  King  took  possession  of  his  with 
the  Dauphin,  and  immediately  began  to  make  a  deliberate 
examination  of  its  arrangements.  He  opened  a  little  door 
that  was  concealed  in  the  tapestry,  and,  seeing  a  secret  stair- 
case, inquired  where  it  led  to,  and  asked  that  a  sentinel  might 
be  posted  there.  Then  he  midressed,  and  sat  down  in  an  arm- 
chair in  his  shirt.  As  the  heat  was  very  great  and  he  suffered 
much  from  it,  he  had  asked  that  all  the  doors  might  be  left 
open ;  and  thus  the  interested  spectators  who  were  packed 

205 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

into  the  great  hall  and  kept  within  bounds  by  two  sentries 
were  able  to  see  him  in  this  simple  costume,  perfectly  in- 
different to  all  the  eyes  that  were  fixed  upon  him.^ 

At  nine  o'clock  supper  was  announced.     The  poor  consti- 
tutional bishop  having  found  it  quite  impossible  to  make  the 


LOUIS  XVl'S  ROOM  IN  THE  BISHOPS  PALACE  AT  MEAUX. 


smallest  contribution  towards  the  plenishing  of  the  table,  it 
had  been  necessary  to  appeal  to  the  kindliness  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Meaux.  Some  of  the  glass  and  linen  had  been 
borrowed  from  the  posting-house  near  the  palace,  while  the 
meal  itself  had  been  ordered  from  Levallois,  the  first  cook  in 
the  town.  The  menu  was  perhaps  more  imposing  than 
delicate.     Its  details  have  been  preserved. 

^  Souvenirs  de  Mathieu  Dumas. 

206 


THE   END   OF  THE  JOURNEY 

Soup. 

Veal  cutlets,  iced ;  chickens  dressed  a  la  Tartare ;  stewed 
eels ;  mackerels  a  la  maitre  d'hotel. 

Boast  chickens  and  home-fed  pigeons  ;  young  rabbits. 

Two  salads ;  artichokes  with  sauce  ;  fried  artichokes ;  two 
dishes  of  peas. 

Two  creams  a  Vanglaise ;  two  little  apricot  cakes  ;  four 
bowls  of  strawberries ;  four  plates  of  sugar ;  two  plates  of 
cherries  ;  two  plates  of  biscuits  and  macaroons.^ 

During  this  supper,  which  was  short  and  quickly  served, 
an  ever-increasing  crowd  had  been  pouring  into  the  palace, 
filling  not  only  the  rooms,  but  also  the  corridors,  the  inclined 
way,  and  the  garden — that  austere  garden  of  Bossuefs, 
planted  with  box  and  designed  in  the  shape  of  a  mitre — and 
even  the  precincts,  the  square,  and  the  streets.  And  all 
through  the  night  the  country  population  crowded  in  con- 
stantly growing  numbers  round  the  closed  gates  of  the  town, 
encamping  in  the  ditches,  or  at  the  feet  of  the  venerable 
towers,  or  on  the  old  ramparts,  while  the  muffled  clamour 
that  arose  from  that  great  mass  of  men  penetrated  to  the 
empty  echoing  rooms  where  the  King  and  Queen  were  passing 
a  wakeful  night.^ 

The  King  was  in  great  discomfort  from  the  heat,  and  hav- 
ing, contrary  to  his  custom,  eaten  very  little  supper,  he  retired 
early.  The  Queen  was  uneasy  as  to  the  events  of  the 
morrow,  and  repeatedly  inquired  about  the  state  of  Paris. 
The  Commissioners,  having  **  eaten  a  morsel ""  in  a  room  by 
themselves,  were  preparing  their  despatches  when  the  Queen 
sent  for  M.  Bamave.  There  is  a  tradition  that  she  walked 
with  him  in  the  garden  of  the  palace,  and  told  him  of  her 
fears  with  regard  to  the  bodyguards.  These  unfortunate 
men  had  been  enduring  a  ceaseless  martyrdom  for  three  days. 
It  is  hard  to  see  why  the  populace  should  have  regarded 
these  retainers  as  the  instigators  of  the  flight.  Perhaps  it 
had  been  whispered  to  them  that  one  of  these  yellow  liveries 
that  were  so  greatly  scorned  and  vilified  formed  a  disguise — 
as  Bamave  had   believed — for   the   Comte   de   Fersen,   the 

^  See  Modeste,  Le  passage  de  Louis  XVI.     All   this  food  only  cost 
76  livres  10  sols.  ^  Le  passage  de  Louis  X  VI. 

207 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

Queen's  familiar,  the  foreigner,  upon  whom  in  the  general 
opinion  all  the  responsibility  lay,  and  against  whom  in 
consequence  all  the  wrath  of  the  people  was  directed.  Or 
was  it  that  the  popular  fury  was  still  timid,  and  vented  it- 
self upon  these  three  men  because  it  dared  not  directly  attack 
the  majesty  of  royalty  ?  Whatever  the  reason  may  have 
been,  these  men  since  leaving  Varennes  had  on  several  occa- 
sions looked  death  in  the  face  ;  and  notably  on  the  previous 
day  between  Dormans  and  Chateau-Thierry,  when  the  crowd 
had  flung  itself  upon  them  with  the  design  of  "  binding  them 
to  the  front  wheels  of  the  carriage"  and  crushing  them 
beneath  the  moving  vehicle.  The  horses  had  actually  been 
stopped  by  some  of  these  fanatics,  and  Barnave  had  been 
obliged  to  leave  the  carriage  and  exert  all  the  authority  of 
his  office  to  induce  the  monsters  to  give  up  their  horrible 
intention.^ 

It  was  feared,  then,  that  the  entry  into  Paris,  which 
threatened  to  be  dangerous,  might  have  serious  results  for 
these  three  men.  Valory,  whose  legendary  Historical 
Summary  should  only  be  consulted  with  the  greatest  discre- 
tion, records  a  moving  speech  in  the  style  of  Livy  as  having 
been  declaimed  by  the  King  at  this  juncture :  "  Witnesses 
and  companions  of  our  misfortunes,  you  are  also  our  partners 
in  its  pains.  .  .  .*"  If  we  are  to  believe  Valory,  Petion  sug- 
gested disguising  the  three  guards  and  helping  them  to 
escape,  on  the  pretext  of  saving  them  from  the  wrath  of 
Paris,  but  really  "  with  the  secret  design  of  having  them 
privately  assassinated."  It  is  probable  that  after  supper  the 
Commissioners  of  the  Assembly  and  General  Mathieu  Dumas 
joined  the  royal  family,  and  that  they  discussed  the  programme 
for  the  morrow.  It  seeems  certain  that  the  Queen  insisted 
that  the  guards  should  not  discard  their  uniform.  "  The 
King,"  she  said,  "must  enter  Paris  with  his  family  and 
attendants  as  he  left  it."^  Petion  does  not  mention  this 
consultation,  in  which  perhaps  he  took  no  part. 

By  five  o''clock  on  Saturday  the  25th  of  June  everyone  in 
the  episcopal  palace  of  Meaux  was  afoot.     The  King,  as  he 

^  Precis  historique  du  Comte  Valory. 
^  Souvenirs  de  Mathieu  Dumas. 


THE   END   OF  THE  JOURNEY 

made  his  toilet,  was  so  much  impressed  by  the  dirtiness  of 
his  linen  that  he  borrowed  a  shirt  from  one  of  ushers  of  the 
Assembly. 

A  dish  of  eggs  was  placed  before  the  royal  family,  with 
cream,  sugar,  and  rolls.  The  postmaster  was  called  upon  to 
supply  twenty-four  horses  :  eleven  for  the  King''s  two  carriages, 
eight  for  two  carnages  that  followed  them,  and  two  riding 
horses,  one  for  an  officer  on  duty,  and  the  other  for  La  Tour- 
Maubourg,  who  did  not  care  to  make  his  entry  into  Paris  in 
the  cabriolet  with  the  women-of-the-bedchamber.^  Finally, 
three  horses  were  harnessed  to  the  wagon  in  which  the 
triumphant  Varennois  were  crowded.^  As  for  Mathieu  Dumas, 
he  took  possession  for  the  day  of  the  fine  horse  V Argeiit'my 
which  had  been  left  at  Meaux^  four  days  earlier  by  the 
officer  called  de  Briges.  By  six  o*'clock  the  cavalcade  had 
started,  under  a  burning,  cloudless  sky,  in  a  temperature 
of  sixty-eight  degrees,  which  gave  promise  of  an  oppressive 
day.  The  procession,  even  as  it  left  the  palace  gate,  en- 
countered a  crowd  so  dense  that  it  seemed  impenetrable  ;  it 
gave  way,  however,  with  a  good  deal  of  screaming,  before  the 
horses'*  heels,  for  the  berline  was  surrounded  by  a  detachment 
of  mounted  national  guards  from  Paris.*  Petion  took  his 
original  place  between  Madame  Elizabeth  and  Madame 
de  Tourzel,  on  whose  knee  Madame  Royale  sat  almost 
continuously.  On  the  back  seat,  between  the  King  and 
Queen,  sat  Barnave,  with  the  Dauphin  standing  between  his 
knees.  On  the  box  the  three  bodyguards,  to  whom  the 
narrow  bracket-seat  gave  but  scanty  accommodation,  were,  in 
common  with  the  horses,  the  carriage,  and  the  escort  them- 
selves, covered  with  the  dust  that  rose  under  the  horses'  hoofs 
and  the  trampling  of  the  crowd  and  whirled  into  the  berline 
in  suffocating  clouds. 

The  King,  who  was  "quite  as  phlegmatic  and  calm  as 
though  nothing  had  been  going  forward,*"  kept  a  decanter  of 
orangeade  beside  him  in  the  carriage,  and  from  time  to  time 
poured  out  a  bumper.     He  gave  the  glass  to  Petion,  and 

*  Nouvelle  Revues  May  15, 1903,  Louis  XVI  d  Varennes. 

2  Natwnal  Archives,  M.  664. 

'  Souvenirs  de  Mathieu  Dumas.       *  M^moires  de  Potion. 

209  p 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

graciously  filled  it  with  his  own  hands.  By  this  time  Petion 
had  become  quite  familiar  and  at  his  ease ;  he  allowed  the 
King  to  pour  out  some  wine  for  him,  and  "  tapped  the  glass 
against  the  bottle ""  by  way  of  thanks  and  as  an  indication 
that  there  was  enough  in  the  glass.  He  ate  heartily,  gnaw- 
ing the  bones  of  a  chicken  to  the  last  morsel,  and  throwing 
the  remains  carelessly  out  of  the  window,  under  the  noses  of 
his  fellow-travellers.^ 

At  ten  o'clock  they  descended  the  steep  hill  that  leads 
into  Claye,  where  they  changed  horses.  As  soon  as  they  had 
passed  this  little  town,  and  were  once  more  travelling  at  a 
foot's  pace  through  the  crowd  on  the  dusty  road,  the  carriage 
was  again  besieged  by  the  rabble,  who  were  now  more 
excited  and  riotous  than  ever.  For  Paris  was  like  a  boiling, 
seething  sea,  and  the  outer  fringe  of  its  foam  was  apparent 
even  here.  The  wrath  of  the  populace  became  more  visible 
at  every  turn  of  the  wheels,  and  a  feeling  of  foreboding 
invested  this  slow  march  towards  the  immense,  excited  city, 
whose  menace  could  be  felt  from  afar  with  a  sense  of  tragic 
solemnity. 

Having  passed  Villeparisis,  the  procession  reached  the  wood 
of  Bondy  at  about  mid-day.  A  second  detachment  of  the 
Parisian  mounted  guard  was  posted  at  the  edge  of  the  forest, 
and  these  horsemen  tried  to  force  a  passage  for  themselves  to 
the  berline.  The  grenadiers  would  not  give  up  their  place  to 
them,  however,  and  the  result  was  a  lively  scene.  Swords  were 
drawn  and  bayonets  brought  to  the  charge ;  and  in  the  midst 
of  this  disorder  among  the  guards  a  horde  of  half-frenzied 
ruffians  darted  from  the  thicket,  and  with  ferocious  cries 
rushed  forward  to  attack  the  carriage.  Dishevelled  and  half- 
drunken  women — the  Megaeras  of  the  memorable  days  of 
October — actually  scrambled  beneath  the  horses  in  order  to 
approach  the  Queen  and  fling  their  ribald  insults  in  her 
face. 

"  It's  all  very  well  for  her  to  show  us  her  child,  but  everyone 
knows  fat  Louis  is  not  its  father  ! " 

The  King  heard  this  remark  quite  plainly.     The  Dauphin, 
taking  fright  at  the   noise,  the  clashing  of  arms,  and  the 
^  M^nioires  de  Madame  Campan, 

no 


THE  END   OF  THE  JOURNEY 

horrible  faces,  began  to  scream,  and  his  mother  took  him  in 
her  arms.     Petion  saw  tears  on  the  cheeks  of  the  Queen. 

At  three  o'clock  they  reached  Pantin,  where  there  was  a 
short  halt.  Lafayette  was  waiting  there  with  his  staff,  and 
in  the  street  on  the  right  side  of  the  village  a  great  crowd 
stood  under  the  merciless  sun,  in  perfect  silence.  Such  were 
the  orders  from  Paris — not  a  sound,  and  heads  covered.  From 
time  to  time,  however,  when  Petion"*s  face  or  Bamave's  ap- 
peared at  the  window  of  the  carriage,  there  was  a  sudden 
outburst  of  "  Vive  la  Nation ! "  quickly  repressed  by  an  authori- 
tative hush  !  When  the  carriages  resumed  their  journey  they 
seemed  to  be  carrying  with  them  the  population  of  a  whole 
province.  In  the  fields,  as  far  as  eye  could  see,  there  was 
a  moving  mass  of  heads ;  on  the  wide  road  an  army  was 
marching  as  though  to  a  funeral ;  from  the  distance,  before 
and  behind,  came  sounds  of  the  beating  of  drums,  and  of  cries 
and  songs ;  but  in  the  actual  track  of  the  fugitives  not  a  voice 
was  heard,  not  a  hat  was  raised.  There  was  much  hustling, 
however,  and  trampling  of  feet,  and  many  eager  eyes  trying 
with  desperate  curiosity  to  see  the  King's  demeanour,  and 
more  especially  that  of  the  Queen,  who  was  hardly  visible 
among  the  patriots  who  were  weighing  down  the  berline — some 
aloft  upon  the  roof  among  the  luggage,  some  sitting  on  the 
mud-guards,  others  clinging  behind  the  box  or  perched  upon 
the  springs,  or  indeed  anywhere  that  there  was  room  to  clutch 
with  a  hand  or  to  find  a  foothold.  Two  grenadiers  clung  to 
the  box  in  some  mysterious  fashion,  to  serve  as  a  protection 
to  the  bodyguards;  and  under  this  living  carapace,  which 
threatened  to  collapse  at  every  jolt,  the  royal  carriage  slowly 
made  its  way  through  a  mob  that  grew  ever  denser  and  more 
violent  as  it  approached  the  barrier. 

The  menacing  attitude  of  the  people,  and  the  way  in  which 
the  humiliated  royal  family  were  forced  to  face  the  city  of 
Paris,  have  often  been  described.  Louis  Blanc  especially, 
with  the  help  of  contemporary  journals,  has  drawn  a  graphic 
picture  to  which  nothing  can  be  added  :  the  enormous  circuit 
that  the  carriage  was  forced  to  make  round  the  walls  of  the 
town  from  the  barrier  of  La  Villette  to  that  of  Neuilly  ;  the 
review  of  the  procession  by  Lafayette  and  his  staff  before  the 

211  p  2 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

guard-house  of  the  barrier  of  Monceau,  where  the  King,  to 
put  some  heart  into  himself,  asked  for  a  large  glass  of  wine 
and  drank  it  in  one  gulp  ;  the  progress  through  the  Champs- 
l^lysees,  where  the  national  guards  who  lined  the  road  pre- 
sented arms  with  muskets  reversed  as  at  a  funeral ;  then  the 
crossing  of  the  square,  black  with  people  and  silent  as 
a  desert. 

But  less  has  been  told  of  the  events  that  were  taking  place 
in  the  Assembly  while  the  royal  family  were  enduring  this 
fearful  crucifixion.  The  permanent  sitting  that  had  begun 
on  Tuesday  the  21st  was  still  in  progress  ;  on  this  Saturday, 
the  25th,  it  had  been  suspended  at  one  o'clock  and  resumed 
at  seven  in  the  morning.  The  first  few  hours  had  been 
occupied  by  the  reading  of  the  despatches  that  had  arrived 
from  every  corner  of  the  kingdom — protestations  of  devotion 
to  the  Assembly,  and  descriptions  of  the  emotions  experienced 
by  the  municipalities  of  the  east  and  north  on  hearing  the 
news  of  the  King's  flight.  Each  of  these  communications 
was  warmly  applauded,  and  one  of  the  couriers  was  even 
summoned  to  the  bar.  This  good  man,  the  bearer  of  some 
despatches  from  Verdun,  described  without  any  sign  of 
timidity  or  awkwardness  the  astonishing  sight  that  he  had 
witnessed. 

"  Towards  Bar,  Verdun,  and  Nancy,"  he  said,  "  there  are 
more  than  eight  hundred  thousand  men  on  the  road.  ...  I 
should  have  arrived  yesterday  evening  if  it  had  not  been  that 
the  multitude  of  patriots  on  the  road  made  it  impossible  to 
pass."  The  Assembly  had  sworn  to  keep  calm,  but  these 
echoes  of  the  agitation  that  was  shaking  the  whole  country, 
and  the  seething  impatience  of  its  surroundings  in  Paris, 
combined  to  upset  its  serenity.  This  atmosphere  of  rage 
and  enthusiasm  and  anxiety  gradually  robbed  the  Assembly 
of  the  coolness  to  which  it  aspired,  and  brought  its  tempera- 
ture up  to  that  of  the  outside  world.  Every  moment  was 
bringing  the  fugitive  King  nearer  to  the  capital,  and  the 
deputies  being  for  the  moment  masters  of  the  situation, 
seized  the  opportunity  to  take  advantage  over  their  adversary. 
At  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  Voidel,  in  the  name  of 
the  Committee  of  Inquiries,  proposed  that  before  the  return 

^12 


MARIE   ANTOINETTK. 

From  the  Portrait  by  Vigee  le  Brun. 


THE   END   OF  THE  JOURNEY 

of  the  royal  family  all  papers  found  in  the  Tuileries  should 
be  sealed  up,  and  this  motion  was  carried.     Thouret,  in  the 
name  of  the  Constitutional  Committee,  brought  forward   a 
more   subversive   scheme :    "  On   the  King's   arrival   at   the 
palace  a  guard  shall  be  appointed,  who  shall  be  responsible 
for  his  person.     The  Queen  and  the  heir  presumptive  to  the 
throne  shall  be  subjected  to  similar  supervision.""     On  this 
suggestion  of  placing  the  King  under  arrest  a  bitter  and 
noisy  discussion  followed ;  but  in  spite  of  a  fine  speech  from 
Malouet  opposing    the  motion,  the    Left   carried  the   day 
against  the  constitutionalists.     The  decree  was  passed  with 
the  addition  of  a  fifth  article  enjoining  upon  the  Minister  of 
Justice  to  "  affix  the  State  seals  to  the  decrees  of  the  Assembly 
without  there  being  any  necessity  for  the  King's  sanction  or 
acceptance.""     This  amounted  to  a  suspension  of  the  royal 
authority,   and    indeed   almost   to   a   deposition ;    and   the 
triumphant  progressives  took  care  that  the  news  should  be 
instantly  proclaimed  to  the  sound  of  the  trumpet  in  every 
quarter  of  Paris.     The  way  was  now  clear  for  revolutionary 
measures,  and  a   motion  was   carried,  though  not  without 
discussion,  for  the  conversion  into  coin  of  the  bells  belonging 
to   the  suppressed   churches.     After  this   the  payment    of 
pensions  was   brought  forward,   but  the  general  feeling  of 
uneasiness  and  agitation  was  growing.    The  whole  population 
was  at  this  moment  gathered  round  the  Tuileries  and  the 
Champs-lfilysees,  waiting  for  the  King's   return,  which  had 
been  announced  for  six  o"'clock,  and  the  roar  of  voices  that 
rose  from  the  crowd  was  audible  in  the  Riding  School.     The 
sitting  was  suspended  at  three  ©"'clock  and  resumed  at  five. 
The  watchword  of  the  Assembly  was,  "  Be  calm,  be  calm  !  ^ 
for  their  ambition  was  to  show  the   world   how  sublimely 
indifferent  they  were  to  everything  that  was  not  included  in 
their  parliamentary  duty  ;  and  it  was  understood  that  while 
the  King  was  arriving  at  the  Tuileries  the  discussion  should 
continue  according  to  the  order  of  the  day. 

After  the  reading  of  some  despatches  from  Metz  and  Stras- 
bourg, then  M.  Bureaux  de  Pusy  mounted  the  platform  to 
bring  forward  the  scheme  of  the  Military  Committee  with 
regard  to  fortified  places.    But  the  pulse  of  the  Assembly  was 

213 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

beating  feverishly.  Every  minute  news  from  without  was 
brought  into  the  hall  by  casual  informants :  the  royal  pro- 
cession had  appeared  on  the  rising  ground  of  K^^toile ;  now 
it  was  going  down  the  Champs-Elysees ;  it  had  reached  the 
Place  Louis  XV ;  it  was  entering  the  garden  of  the  Tuileries, 
and  all  the  time  M.  Bureaux  de  Pusy  went  on  imperturbably 
reading  his  report,  to  which  no  doubt  very  few  listened.  A 
good  many  of  the  deputies  had  left  their  seats  and  had  repaired 
to  the  terrace  of  Les  Feuillants  to  watch  the  King''s  progress ;  ^ 
and  suddenly  one  of  these  came  running  back  to  the  hall, 
crying  out : 

"  Monsieur  le  President,  there  is  a  riot  at  the  Tuileries  .  .  . 
some  commissioners  must  be  chosen  to  go  there  ! " 

In  a  moment  the  mask  of  indifference  was  flung  aside ;  the 

*  •'  A  certain  number  of  the  deputies  left  the  hall  to  see  the  procession  ; 
M.  d'Orl^ans  was  seen  to  be  among  them,  which  seemed,  to  say  the  least 
of  it,  inconsiderate." — M^moires  de  Potion. 

This  was  the  scene  of  the  story  that  M.  de  Guilhermy,  one  of  the  depu- 
ties, who  was  the  hero  of  the  tale,  told  later  on  in  the  following  words  to 
his  cousin,  M.  de  Laborde  :"....  They  brought  this  unfortunate  prince 
through  the  garden  of  the  Tuileries,  and  made  him  go  up  the  central  road. 
...  I  was  opposite  our  assembly  hall,  below  the  A116e  des  Feuillants,  in 
great  distress,  and  was  talking  to  several  of  my  colleagues  who  were  seated 
behind  a  heap  of  piled-up  chairs.  I  was  standing  in  front  of  them,  holding 
my  hat  in  my  hand.  As  the  coach  appeared,  with  the  King,  the  Queen, 
Monseigneur  le  Dauphin,  Madame  Elizabeth,  Madame,  Madame  de  Tourzel, 
the  governess  of  the  children  of  France,  etc.,  all  crowded  into  it,  a  swarm  of 
national  guards  came  rushing  about  the  garden  ;  one  of  them  came  up  to 
me,  shouting  out  to  me  at  the  top  of  his  voice  to  put  on  my  hat,  because 
Louis  Capet  and  his  family  were  passing.  At  that  moment  I  was  not  in  a 
very  compliant  humour.  I  looked  at  him  contemptuously,  and  answered 
that  that  was  a  reason  for  remaining  uncovered.  The  soldier  ran  at  me, 
threatening  me  with  his  bayonet  and  trying  to  seize  me  by  the  collar.  .  .  . 
The  violence  with  which  I  repulsed  him  was  increased  twofold  by  the 
feelings  that  overwhelmed  me,  and  he  fell  on  his  back.  In  a  moment  two 
or  three  dozen  of  the  rascals  fell  upon  me,  hustling  me  and  pulling  me 
about.  While  I  was  struggling  with  them  I  flung  away  my  hat,  defying 
them  to  make  me  put  it  on — he  may  bring  it  back  to  me  who  dares  !  My 
friends  made  vain  efibrts  to  help  me,  and  some  of  these  men  in  uniform 
said,  lowering  their  voices,  '  It  is  a  deputy,  we  must  leave  him  alone,' 
while  others  cried  out,  '  It  is  a  deputy  on  the  *  black  '  side,  we  must  cut 
him  to  pieces  ! '  While  this  hubbub  was  going  on  one  of  the  most  notori- 
ous blackguards  in  the  Assembly  came  by  ;  he  dashed  in  among  them,  and 
ordered  them  to  leave  me  alone,  on  the  grounds  of  my  inviolability.  .  .  . 
The  canaille  obeyed.  .  .  In  that  moment  of  exaltation,  if  all  the  big  guns 
in  Paris  had  been  pointed  at  me  they  would  not  have  made  me  put  on  my 
hat,  and  unless  it  had  been  nailed  upon  my  head  it  would  not  have  stayed 
there.  I  was  young  then,  but  now  that  I  am  old  I  do  not  think  that,  on  a 
similar  occasion,  I  should  be  any  more  amenable  or  docile." — Gazette  de 
France,  January  22,  1903. 

214 


THE   END   OF  THE  JOURNEY 

whole  hall  was  in  commotion.  "  Yes,  yes !  Choose  some 
commissioners  !  Be  quick,  M.  le  President,  be  quick  ! "  Amid 
the  uproar  Beauhamais,  who  was  again  in  the  President's  chair, 
nominated  six  men :  Dupont,  Noailles,  Menou,  Coroller,  the 
Abbe  Gregoire,  and  Le  Couteulx,  who  were  cheered  as  they 
left  the  hall.  Everyone,  members  and  audience  alike,  prepared 
to  follow  them,  moving  excitedly  to  and  fro ;  but  Beauhamais, 
with  the  decision  of  a  leader  of  men,  recalled  the  deputies  to 
their  seats  with  a  word. 

"  It  is  with  the  greatest  respect,"  he  said,  "  that  I  remind 
the  Assembly  of  the  absolute  necessity  for  calmness.  I  impose 
profound  silence  upon  the  public ;  it  is  for  the  members  of  this 
Assembly  to  give  them  an  example.'*'' 

These  words  had  a  strange  effect.  M.  Bureaux  de  Pusy 
placidly  resumed  the  reading  of  his  report  on  fortified  places 
and  military  stations,  while  every  heart  was  beating,  and 
every  voice  choked  with  anxiety,  and  every  ear  straining  to 
catch  the  sound  of  the  distant  thunder  that  rose  from  the 
besieged  garden. 

The  six  commissioners,  pushing  their  way  through  the 
crowd,  ran  to  the  entrance  of  the  palace,  which  they  reached 
precisely  as  the  royal  berline  drew  up  before  it.  This  was  the 
critical  moment :  the  mob,  bloodthirsty  as  a  pack  of  hounds, 
flung  out  their  arms  in  their  eagerness  to  seize  and  kill  the 
three  bodyguards,  who  were  still  seated  on  the  box.  They 
were  threatened  with  bayonets,  bare  swords,  pikes,  and 
clenched  fists.  "J  mort  les  gardes,  a  mort!^  The  three 
wide  steps  ^  that  it  was  necessary  to  ascend  before  reaching 
the  shelter  of  the  central  doorway  of  the  Pavilion  de  THorloge 
were  invaded  by  the  furious,  unruly  crowd;  the  National  Guard 
was  borne  down  and  its  lines  broken,  disordered,  and  over- 
powered. In  Mathieu  Dumas''s  efforts  to  restore  order  his  hat 
was  lost,  his  sash  and  the  scabbard  of  his  sword  were  dragged 
off,  his  clothes  were  toni.  So  violent  was  the  mob  that  it 
seemed  as  though  the  whole  vast  sea  of  people  that  had  over- 
spread the  road  from  Varennes  were  accumulated  here  in  a 
tempestuous  mass,  and  were  dashing  itself  against  the  walls  of 
the  palace.  The  first  of  the  bodyguards,  Moustier,  staggered 
1  Mimoires  de  Weber, 

215 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

and  fell.  He  disappeared,  dragged  hither  and  thither  in  the 
turmoil — was  seized,  wounded,  and  finally  pushed  bleeding 
into  the  vestibule,  where  he  was  cared  for  by  one  of  the 
Queen's  Hungarian  retainers,  named  Bercq.^  The  second 
guard.  Maiden,  was  more  fortunate,  and  succeeded,  in  spite  of 
blows,  in  reaching  the  palace  without  any  wounds.  Lafayette 
had  rallied  the  guards  and  re-formed  them  into  line.  Then 
the  deputies  appeared,  and  the  sight  of  them  had  the  effect  of 
somewhat  calming  the  crowd.  The  third  guard  was  hurried 
into  the  palace,  struggling  and  yelling  with  rage.^  Then 
suddenly  silence  fell.  The  door  of  the  carriage  opened,  the 
King  appeared,  stepped  out  deliberately,  and  mounted  the 
steps.  Not  a  sound  was  heard.  But  as  the  Queen  emerged 
from  the  narrow  doorway  a  low  murmur  arose  from  the  crowd, 
whereupon  M.  de  Noailles  hurried  to  her  side  and  escorted  her 
into  the  palace,  while  the  other  deputies  gathered  round  her. 
A  few  cries  were  heard,  but  were  quickly  suppressed.  As  the 
Dauphin  and  his  sister  passed  they  were  cheered.  "  There 
goes  the  hope  and  mainstay  of  the  French  !  *"  Then  Madame 
Elizabeth  and  Madame  de  Tourzel  were  led  into  the  palace 
by  Baniave  and  La  Tour-Maubourg,  and  the  grating  of  the 
peristyle  fell.^     It  was  seven  o''clock  in  the  evening.* 

The  King  and  Queen  now  mounted  the  two  flights  of  the 
great  stone  staircase  that  led  to  their  rooms.  All  the  valets 
were  there  in  attendance,  at  their  proper  posts  and  in  their 
usual  garments.  The  royal  family  might  have  been  returning 
from  a  drive  or  a  hunting  expedition.  Louis  XVI  smilingly 
passed  through  the  antechambers  to  his  own  rooms,  followed 
by  the  Queen,  Madame  Elizabeth,  the  six  deputies  despatched 
by  the  Assembly,  Barnave,  La  Tour-Maubourg,  and  Petion. 
The  last  named,  who  was  half  dead  with  fatigue,  overcome 
with  heat,  and  gasping  with  thirst,  asked  Madame  Elizabeth 
to  order  a  drink  for  him.     The  kindly  Princess  saw  to  the 

^  Moustier's  Pricis.  2  Weber's  Memoirs. 

3  Nouvelle  Revue  of  May  15,  1903.     Louis  XVI a  Varennes. 

4  *'  The  gate  was  already  closed,  and  I  was  a  good  deal  knocked  about 
before  I  could  get  in.  A  guard  took  me  by  the  collar  and  was  on  the  point 
of  striking  me,  not  knowing  who  I  was,  when  someone  suddenly  stopped 
him  and  mentioned  my  name;  he  made  me  a  thousand  apologies." — 
M4moires  de  Potion. 

216 


THE   END   OF  THE  JOURNEY 

matter  without  delay,  and  some  beer  was  brought  in.  It  was 
altogether  a  homely  scene.  The  King  was  placidly  per- 
forming his  toilet  when  Deputy  CoroUer  went  up  to  him  and 
began  to  scold  him  quite  paternally.  "  Yes,  indeed,  that  was 
a  nice  prank  for  you  to  play  !  That  is  what  comes  of  having 
bad  advisers."  Then,  relenting,  he  went  on  peevishly,  "  You 
are  good,  you  are  beloved  ....  but  just  see  what  a  scrape 
you  have  got  yourself  into  !  "  ^ 

This  remark  was  greeted  with  smiles;  but  suddenly  the 
Queen  uttered  a  cry  :  her  boy  was  not  in  the  room.  "  Do 
they  want  to  separate  him  from  her  ?  Has  he  been  smothered 
in  the  crowd  ? ""  ^  She  left  him  in  the  carnage,  and  had  not 
seen  him  since.  There  was  a  minute  of  fearful  suspense 
while  inquiries  were  hastily  made,  but  the  Queen  was  soon 
reassured.  Two  deputies,  Duport  and  Montmorency,  had 
carried  the  exhausted  child  to  his  room  and  placed  him  in  the 
hands  of  his  attendants.^  The  Queen  grew  calm  again,  and 
approaching  Lafayette,  handed  over  to  him,  not  without 
some  affectation  of  contempt,  the  keys  of  the  boxes  that  were 
still  in  the  carriage.  Lafayette  deprecatingly  declined  to 
take  them,  protesting  that  "  no  one  dreamt  of  opening  the 
boxes  '*'' ;  whereupon  the  Queen  threw  the  keys  on  to  the  hat 
which  the  commandant-general,  as  he  stood  respectfully 
before  her,  was  holding  against  his  chest.  And  there  he  left 
them,  apologising  for  "  the  trouble  that  it  would  give  her 
Majesty  to  take  them  back,  since,  as  for  him,  he  would  not 
touch  them.*"  "  Oh, "  she  said  crossly,  "  I  can  find  plenty  of 
people  less  scrupulous  than  you  ! ""  * 

*  Barnave's  Report  to  the  Asaembly. 

2  Weber's  Memoirs. 

3  "The  deputies  de  Dupont  fsic]  and  Montmorency  carried  this  august 
little  sprig  oi  royalty.  The  lovely  child  looked  about  him  with  eyes  full  of 
uneasiness,  seeking  his  parents,  and  seemed  to  be  asking,  '  Why  have  you 
parted  me  from  my  father  and  mother  ?  Why  do  you  call  me  the  mainstay 
of  France  and  the  hope  of  the  French  ?  Why  these  cheers  for  me,  and  this 
silence  for  my  father  ? '  " — Louia  XVI  a  VarenneSf  Nouvelle  Hevue,  May 
15,  1903. 

*  M^moires  de  Lafayette.  Statement  of  Joseph  Guillaume  Lescuyer, 
captain  and  adjutant  of  the  6th  battalion  of  the  3rd  division,  resident  in 
the  Faubourg  Saint-Denis:  "On  the  25th  he  was  ordered  to  form  part 
of  the  King's  guard  ;  he  was  placed  during  the  march  close  to  the  King's 
carriage  door.  After  he  had  been  marching  for  some  time  the  King  called 
him  by  name  and  said  to  him  in  a  loud  voice,  '  M.  Lescuyer,  here  are  the 

217 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

The  King  retired  to  his  study  and  wrote  some  letters, 
which,  so  docile  a  prisoner  was  he  already,  he  ordered  his 
valet  to  show  to  the  general  before  despatching  them. 
Lafayette  lost  his  temper.  He  thought  it  "  very  ill-natured  " 
to  make  a  spy  of  him  in  this  way,  and  then,  preparing  to 
retire,  he  asked  for  his  Majesty''s  orders.  "  It  seems  to  me,''' 
said  Louis  XVI,  laughing, "  that  I  am  more  at  your  orders 
than  you  are  at  mine."  The  three  Commissioners  of  the 
Assembly,  on  being  consulted,  went  further.  It  was  the 
place  of  the  commandant-general,  they  said,  to  undertake  the 
surveillance  of  the  palace  and  to  arrest  the  three  bodyguards, 
as  well  as  Madame  Brunier  and  Madame  Neuville.  As  for 
Madame  de  Tourzel,  it  was  possible  to  keep  an  eye  on  her  in 
her  own  rooms.  Potion,  Barnave,  and  La  Tour-Maubourg 
took  their  departure  at  last,  at  about  half  past  eight,  and  re- 
turned to  the  Riding  School,  where  the  endless  sitting  was 
still  going  on.  The  Assembly  was  reassured  as  to  the  rein- 
statement of  the  fugitives  in  their  "  prison, '"*  but  was 
awaiting  the  return  of  the  Commissioners.  As  the  latter 
entered  there  was  an  outburst  of  applause,  and  Barnave, 
mounting  the  platform,  began  to  speak.  He  could  hardly  be 
heard,  and  protestations  broke  out  noisily.  He  raised  his 
hand. 

"  You  will  forgive  me,  perhaps,"  he  said  in  a  broken  voice, 
"  when  you  learn  that  since  we  left  the  Assembly  we  have 
not  had  a  single  moment's  rest." 

Then  a  profound  silence  fell  upon  the  hall,  while  Barnave 
told  the  story  of  the  Commissioners'  departure,  the  incidents 
of  the  journey,  the  meeting  with  the  royal  family,  the  details 
of  the  return,  the  difficulties  of  the  march  after  leaving  Meaux, 
the  necessity  for  "  stopping  the  procession  every  quarter  of 
an  hour,  by  reason  of  the  number  of  citizens  on  the  road," 
and  finally  the  arrival  at  the  Tuileries  and  the  placing  of  the 
royal  family  under  surveillance. 

There  was  little  solemnity  about  the  Epilogue.     On  the 

keys  of  my  carriage ;  after  I  leave  it,  lock  it,  and  return  the  keys  to  me.' 
Lescuyer  answered  that  he  would  carry  out  the  order.  When  they 
reached  the  Champs-Elys^es  the  King  asked  him  to  return  the  keys, 
which  were  three  in  number;  he  returned  them  instantly," — National 
Archives,  D.  XXIXb,  37. 

218 


THE   END   OF  THE  JOURNEY 

morrow,  the  26th,  three  fresh  delegates  from  the  Assembly 
presented  themselves  at  half-past  six  in  the  evening  at  the 
Tuileries,  not  to  examine  the  King,  but  to  hear  his  statement 
and  that  of  the  Queen  touching  the  facts  that  had  prompted 
them  to  leave  Paris,  and  the  circumstances  of  their  flight. 
They  found  the  King  alone  in  his  room.  He  read  them  a 
short  memorial  of  no  significance,  in  which  he  renewed  his 
protestations  that  he  had  not  at  all  intended  to  leave  the 
kingdom.  When  they  had  heard  this,  and  had  signed  a 
copy  of  it  in  his  presence,  they  expressed  a  wish  to  see 
the  Queen,  whose  statement  they  also  wished  to  hear.  At 
this  moment  Madame  Elizabeth  appeared. 

"Elizabeth,""  said  the  King,  "go,  please,  and  see  if  the 
Queen  can  receive  these  gentlemen,  and  do  not  let  her  keep 
them  waiting.""  ^ 

The  Princess  obeyed,  and  returned  almost  at  once  with  the 
information  that  the  Queen  "  had  just  got  into  her  bath.""  ^ 
Louis  XVI  begged  his  sister  to  go  back  "and  find  out  if 
it  would  take  long.""  The  delegates — they  were  Duport, 
Tronchet,  and  d' Andre — respectfully  begged  that  the  Queen 
would  herself  suggest  an  hour  for  the  interview,  and  she 
sent  a  message  to  the  effect  that  she  would  receive  them 
on  the  following  morning  at  eleven  ©""clock. 

She  awaited  them  in  her  room,  and,  offering  them  arm- 
chairs, sat  on  a  high  chair  herself,*  an  ironical  subversion 
of  etiquette  which  was  severely  interpreted.  Neither  did 
the  Queen"'s  statement  meet  with  approval,  and  indeed  it 
was  meaningless  enough.  When  it  was  read  to  the  Assembly 
it  was  greeted  with  murmurs  of  dissatisfaction,*  and  the 
general  public  were  no  more  indulgent.  "  Is  it  possible  to 
tell  lies  to  such  a  point  ?""  they  said.* 

The  King  was  already  forgiven,  but  the  feeling  of  resent- 

*  Toulongeon,  Htstoire  de  la  B^volution. 

2  ".  .  .  Two  days  later  we  received  a  letter  from  the  Queen,  written 
from  her  dictation  by  one  of  her  ushers,  of  whose  devotion  and  discretion 
she  was  sure.  It  contained  these  words  :  *  I  ara  having  this  letter  written 
to  you  from  my  bath.  I  have  just  got  into  it,  in  order  at  least  to  revive  my 
phvsical  energies  .  .  .  etc.' " — M6moire3  de  Madame  Campan. 

^  Mimoires  de  Lafayette. 

*  Parliamentary  Archives,  June  27,  1791,  p.  553. 

'  Nouvelle  i?evi*c,  May  15,  1903,  Louis  XVI  d  Varennea. 

219 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

ment  against  the  Austrian  was  implacable.  She  knew  it  well. 
When  she  rose  from  her  bed  on  the  following  day,  and  one  of 
her  women-of-the-bedchamber  thinking  she  was  looking  well 
could  not  refrain  from  saying  so,  she  removed  her  night-cap. 
Her  hair  had  turned  quite  white,  "  like  the  hair  of  a  woman 

of  seventy."^ 

1  M&moires  de  Madame  Campan. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE   CASE   OF   MONSIEUB   LEONARD 

To  die  twice  is  not  a  commonplace  occurrence,  and  although 
there  are  many  instances  in  our  history  of  men  who  have  been 
forgotten  and  have  reappeared,  of  lost  children  who  have  been 
found,  and  of  apparently  dead  people  who  have  recovered,  it 
must  be  extremely  rarelyjthat  a  man's  name  appears  twice  over 
in  the  same  death  register  without  there  being  any  substi- 
tution or  error,  or — strangest  of  aU — any  subsequent  revision. 
Yet  this  is  what  happened  to  a  certain  personage  who  at  the  time 
when  Le  Mariage  de  Figaro  was  at  the  height  of  its  popularity 
figured  in  the  dreams  of  all  the  fine  ladies  of  Marie  Antoin- 
ette's Court.  This  hero  of  the  boudoir  was  named  Jean 
Fran9ois  Autie,  alias  Leonard,  fuid  was  by  profession  a  barber. 
He  was  at  that  time  approaching  his  thirtieth  year,  having 
been  born  in  1758.  If  this  were  the  end,  instead  of  the 
beginning  of  his  story,  it  would  be  unnecessary  to  say  that  he 
was  a  native  of  Pamiers,^  for  adventures  of  this  kind  only 
happen  to  Gascons. 

I  do  not  profess  to  know  anything  at  all  of  existing  con- 
ditions in  the  hairdressing  world,  but  I  find  it  hard  to 
believe  that  there  is  in  Paris  at  the  present  day  any  artist 
whose  vogue  can  be  compared  to  that  enjoyed  in  1785  by 
le  marquis  Leonard,  as  he  was  nicknamed  by  the  Comte  de 
Provence  to  distinguish  him  from  his  brother  the  chevalier, 
whose  office  was  confined  to  the  cutting  of  hair.  Everyone 
has  seen  prints — by  no  means  rare — in  the  windows  of  the 
booksellers   on    the   Quai,    representing  the   gigantic   head- 

1  National  Archives,  W.  432. 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

dresses  that  women  wore  in  the  time  of  Louis  XVI,  measuring 
two  feet  in  height,  adorned  with  a  heterogeneous  collection  of 
accessories  and  supported  by  a  framework  of  steel  wire.  All 
these  Leonard  created.  He  gave  them  ridiculous  names 
which  the  women  thought  enchanting ;  poyfs^  toquets  en  lubie^ 
valgalas.  There  was  even,  when  the  Dauphin  was  vaccinated, 
a  head-dress  a  Finoadation,  which  the  austere  Mercy  described 
in  a  letter  to  the  Empress  Maria  Theresa,  much  to  her 
amazement.  It  included  "  a  serpent,  a  club,  a  rising  sun,  and 
an  olive  tree,"  by  which  we  may  see  plainly  that  there  is  no 
originality  in  the  symbolists  of  our  days. 

If  Leonard  was  not  a  perfect  imbecile,  with  neither  refine- 
ment nor  taste,  he  must  certainly  have  been  a  profound 
philosopher,  and  have  spent  hours  of  exquisite  enjoyment  in 
observing  the  measureless  folly  of  those  brainless  grandes 
dames,  whom  he  treated  with  the  rudeness  of  a  slave-trader, 
being  repaid  by  them  with  all  the  more  idolatry  and  admira- 
tion. A  miracle-monger  who  could  bring  the  dead  to  life 
would  have  been  less  in  demand  than  this  illustrious  hair- 
dresser. When  a  woman  was  of  sufficient  importance  to 
receive  his  ministrations,  and  when,  by  dint  of  palaver  or 
interest  or  the  recommendations  of  friends,  she  had  succeeded 
in  securing  an  interview,  the  artist  would  arrive — always  in  a 
hurry — would  look  at  his  client,  clasp  his  forehead  in  his 
hands,  appear  for  some  minutes  to  study  the  figure  and 
general  deportment  of  the  patient,  who  was  gasping  with 
emotion,  and  then,  as  he  felt  the  inspiration  come  to  him — 
Deus  ecce,  Deics! — he  would  pounce  upon  the  first  objects 
that  came  to  hand,  a  cabbage,  a  scarf,  a  sponge,  some  apples, 
a  child's  toy  boat,  and  with  the  help  of  these  accessories  would 
build  up  his  extravagant  edifice  on  the  head  of  his  crushed  but 
delighted  victim.  Thus  it  was  that  the  Duchesse  de  Luynes 
presented  herself  one  day  in  the  royal  circle  with  one  of  her 
chemises  in  her  hair,  an  idea  which  was  thought  to  be  "  quite 
too  delightfully  foolish " ;  and  that  Madame  de  Matignon 
made  her  appearance  with  her  locks  dressed  a  la  Jardiniere, 
carrying  on  her  head  an  artichoke,  a  head  of  green  broccoli,  a 
pretty  carrot,  and  a  few  little  radishes.  Rousseau  had  made 
nature  fashionable ;  nothing  was  acceptable  but  simplicity. 

n2 


THE   CASE   OF  MONSIEUR  LEONARD 

Hence  this  kitchen  garden.  As  one  of  these  ladies  said, 
"  Vegetables  are  so  much  more  natural  than  flowers,  are  they 
not?'' 

With  such  things  as  these  Leonard  trimmed  the  hair  of  all 
the  pretty  women  in  Paris  from  1785  to  1792.  The  noblest 
and  the  most  charming  heads  passed  through  his  hands; 
every  day  his  nimble  fingers  gently  touched  those  pink  and 
perfumed  necks  that  were  so  soon  to  be  torn  by  the  steel 
triangle  of  the  guillotine.  In  the  days  of  the  Terror  this 
man  must  have  been  tortured  by  horrible  visions  every 
evening  as  he  read  in  the  gazettes  the  account  of  the 
executions  af  the  previous  day :  visions  of  Sanson's  scissors 
shearing  off  the  soft  hair  that  his  own  golden  comb  had  so 
often  smoothed ;  of  the  horrible  basket  in  which  were  heaped 
indiscriminately  the  long  curls,  fair  and  dark,  that  he  knew 
so  well ;  of  the  white  necks  that  he  had  once  made  beautiful 
in  the  cause  of  pleasure  and  love — bared  now  by  the  brutal 
hands  of  the  executioner's  assistants. 

Physically,  Leonard  was  a  precise  little  person,  very  dapper 
and  bustling,  with  slightly  prominent  cheek-bones,  a  pointed 
and  rather  turned-up  nose,  and  a  vague  likeness  to  Robespierre, 
who  for  his  part  resembled  a  hairdresser  of  a  misanthropical 
temperament. 

The  way  in  which  Leonard  became  mixed  up  with  the 
drama  of  Varennes  is  rather  obscure.  When  one  reads  the 
narratives  of  his  contemporaries  one  always  feels  that  on  this 
subject  there  is  something  "  that  is  left  unsaid."  Moreover, 
this  actor  in  the  drama  has  been  regarded  as  so  insignificant 
that  until  now  no  one  has  thought  of  collecting  and  har- 
monising the  rare  statements  about  him  that  are  scattered 
through  the  documents  of  the  time.  Such  a  compilation, 
however,  is  not  without  interest,  as  we  shall  see. 

On  the  20th  June,  1791,  at  a  quarter  past  one  in  the  after- 
noon, Marie  Antoinette,  being  on  the  point  of  sitting  down 
to  the  table  with  the  King,  sent  for  Leonard,  who  lived  in 
the  Tuileries  in  his  capacity  of  valet-de-chambre  to  her 
Majesty.  He  lost  no  time  in  presenting  himself  in  the  salon 
where  the  royal  family  were  gathered.  He  saw  the  King 
chatting  with  Madame  Elizabeth  in  an  embrasure,  and  the 

223 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

Dauphin  playing  with  his  sister.     The  Queen,  who  was  lean- 
ing against  the  chimney-piece,  signed  to  the  hairdresser  to 
come  near,  and  said  in  a  low  voice : 
"  Leonard,  I  can  count  upon  you  ?  "  ^ 

"  Ah,  Madame,"  he  answered,  "  dispose  of  me  as  you  will. 
I  am  entirely  devoted  to  you." 

"And  I  am  very  sure  of  your  devotion,"  replied  Marie 
Antoinette.  (These  are  her  actual  words.)  "  Here  is  a 
letter :  take  it  to  the  Due  de  Choiseul  in  the  Rue  d'Artois. 
Give  it  into  no  hands  but  his.  K  he  has  not  yet  returned 
home,  he  will  be  at  the  Duchesse  de  Grammonfs  house.  Put 
on  an  overcoat  and  a  round  hat,  to  avoid  being  recognised. 
Obey  him  exactly  as  though  he  were  myself,  without  pausing 
to  think,  and  without  the  least  opposition." 

The  Queen  appeared  much  moved.  She  added  : 
"  Go  quickly,  and  say  to  him  ten  thousand  things  from  me." 
Leonard  bowed  and  left  the  room.  At  two  oVlock  he 
reached  the  Due  de  Choiseul's  house,  dressed  in  white  silk 
stockings,  silk  knee-breeches,  a  large  riding-coat  over  every- 
thing, and  a  wide-brimmed  hat  that  shaded  his  forehead  and 
eyes.  The  Duke,  who  was  expecting  him,  made  him  promise 
to  obey  blindly ;  then,  opening  the  Queen's  letter,  showed  the 
last  lines  of  it  to  Leonard,  who  read  a  fresh  injunction  to 
execute  faithfully  the  orders  he  would  receive.  Then  M.  de 
Choiseul  burnt  the  note  in  the  flame  of  a  taper,  and  led  away 
the  stupefied  hairdresser.  ^  In  the  courtyard  of  the  house  a 
closed  cabriolet  was  standing,  and  Leonard,  seeing  that  he 
was  expected  to  enter  it,  drew  back.  On  hearing  that  the 
Duke  "  was  to  take  him  very  quickly  to  a  spot  some  leagues 
from  Paris,  to  fulfil  a  special  commission,"  he  excused  himself, 
saying  that  he  could  not  go. 

1  Choiseul's  Narrative.  It  is  unnecessary  to  say  that  all  the  dialogues 
here  are  quoted  verbatim,  exactly  as  they  are  recorded  in  the  original 
Narratives. 

2  "  'You  are  quite  convinced,'  I  said  to  him,  'that  the  Queen's  inten- 
tion is  that  you  should  do  everything  I  tell  you?'  'Yes,  Monsieur.' 
'Nevertheless,  read  these  last  lines,  repeating  her  order  to  that  eflfect.' 
He  read  them  and  said  to  me,  '  Monsieur,  there  was  no  need  for  me  to 
do  so.'  Then,  taking  a  candle,  I  burnt  the  letter.  The  man  watched 
me,  somewhat  bewildered  as  to  the  meaning  of  all  this." — Choiseul's 
Narrative. 


LEONARD. 


THE   CASE   OF  MONSIEUR  LEONARD 

"  Monsieur,"  he  said,  "  how  can  I  do  it  ?  I  have  left  my 
key  in  the  door  at  the  palace ;  my  brother  will  not  know 
what  has  become  of  me ;  and  I  have  promised  Madame  de 
Laage  to  dress  her  hair.  She  is  expecting  me;  my  cab- 
riolet is  waiting  in  the  court  of  the  Tuileries  to  take  me  to 
her.     Mon  Dieu !     How  can  I  arrange  for  all  these  things  ? "" 

Choiseul  laughingly  assured  him  that  orders  were  already 
given  that  his  servant  should  be  relieved  from  anxiety  and  his 
horse  cared  for ;  that  he  would  be  able  to  dress  Madame  de 
Laage''s  hair  another  day ;  and  even  as  he  was  speaking  he 
drew  the  man  into  the  carriage  and  lowered  the  blinds. 
They  then  started  off  at  a  great  pace  along  the  road  to 
Bondy.  A  footman  named  Boucher  was  on  the  bracket- 
seat. 

At  Bondy  some  post-horses  were  ready  for  the  cabriolet, 
which  went  on  without  delay  to  Meaux.  At  every  stage 
Leonard's  astonishment  increased,  while  he  perpetually 
reverted  to  his  uneasiness  as  to  his  key,  his  servant,  and 
Madame  de  Laage's  hair,  repeating  continually,  "  She  is 
waiting  for  me,  Monsieur,  she  is  waiting  for  me !  Where  can 
we  be  going  ? ""  When  he  found  that  they  were  going  beyond 
Meaux  his  agitation  became  such  that  it  was  really  necessary 
to  reveal  a  portion  of  the  truth  to  him.  The  Duke  informed 
him  then  that  he  was  being  taken  to  the  frontier,  "  where  he 
was  to  carry  out  a  mission  of  the  greatest  importance,  con- 
cerned with  the  Queen's  service,'*'  ^  reminding  him  of  his 
promise  to  obey  unhesitatingly,  and  appealing  to  his  devo- 
tion.    Leonard  began  to  cry. 

"  Oh,  certainly.  Monsieur,  certainly,"  he  moaned.  (These 
conversations  are  recorded  in  this  precise  form  either  in  the 
documents  of  the  dossier  or  in  the  depositions  of  the  principal 
actors  in  the  drama.)     "But  how  shall  I  get  back  ?     I  am  in 

1  "It  was  much  worse  when  we  had  passed  Claye  and  he  saw  that  I 
was  going  beyond  Meaux.  Then  I  assumed  an  air  of  great  gravity  and 
said  to  him :  '  Listen  to  me,  Leonard  :  it  is  not  to  a  house  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Paris  that  I  am  taking  you,  but  to  the  frontier,  to  a  place 
near  my  regiment.  There  I  ought  to  find  a  letter  of  the  highest  import- 
ance to  the  Queen.  Being  unable  to  give  it  to  her  myself,  it  was  necessary 
to  find  some  sure  hand  by  which  to  send  it  to  her  :  she  has  chosen  you,  as 

being,  on  account  of  your  devotion,  the  man  most  worthy  of  this  trust.' " 

Choiseul's  Narrative. 

225  o 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

silk  stockings  and  breeches,  as  you  see ;  I  have  no  linen  and 
no  money.     Mon  Dku,  what  shall  I  do  ! "" 

He  grew  calmer,  however,  when  the  Duke  assured  him  he 
should  want  for  nothing.  At  Montmirail  the  travellers  made 
a  halt  and  had  some  supper ;  then  they  lay  down  in  their 
clothes  on  a  bed,  but  by  half- past  three  in  the  morning  they 
were   again   on  the  road ;  at  ten   they   changed  horses  at 


YARD  OF  THE  POSTING-HOUSE  AT  PONT-DE-SOMME-VESLE. 


Chalons,  and  an  hour  later  arrived  at  Pont-de-Somme-Vesle, 
where  they  were  awaited  by  forty  hussars  ^  under  the  com- 

1  To  be  strictly  accurate,  the  forty  hussars  charged  with  the  reception 
of  the  royal  berline  at  Pont-de-Somme-Vesle  were  not  yet  at  their  post 
when  Choiseul  and  Leonard  arrived  from  Paris.  "Before  the  posting- 
house,"  says  Choiseul,  "  I  found  M.  Aubriot  (lieutenant)  with  my  two 
saddle-horses."  Aubriot  also  gives  his  version  of  the  meeting.  "  M.  le 
Due  de  Choiseul  arrived  in  a  post-chaise,  accompanied  by  Leonard,  a 
valef-de-chamhre  of  H.M.  the  Queen  .  .  .  M.  le  Due,  on  the  pretext  of 
seeing  if  our  horses  suited  us,  drew  me  into  the  inner  recesses  of  the 
stables.  Having  made  sure  that  we  were  unobserved — 'You  will  have 
the  honour,'  he  said,  '  of  protecting  the  King,  the  Queen,  M.  le  Dauphin, 
Madame  Royale,  Madame  Elizabeth.'  .  .  Then  I  began  to  shake  all  over ; 
my  legs  gave  way  under  the  weight  of  my  body  ;  sparks  of  fire  seemed  to 
be  darting  in  my  veins ;  this  secret,  indeed,  threw  me  into  such  a  state  of 
perturbation  that  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  answer  M.  le  Due,  who  was 
as  much  agitated  as  myself.  .  .  M.  le  Due  wrote  a  note,  which  he  entrusted 
to  me.  'Go,'  he  said,  'towards  Sainte-Menehould :  you  will  meet  a 
detachment  of  fifty  Lauzun  hussars  :  give  this  note  to  the  officer,  and  bring 
him  with  his  hussars  to  the  inn  where  we  are  ourselves.'  I  had  not  gone 
six  hundred  yards  when  I  saw  the  hussars  and  acquitted  myself  of  my 

226 


THE   CASE   OF  MONSIEUR  LEONARD 

mand  of  Lieutenant  Boudet.  It  was  here  that  Choiseul, 
seeing  that  his  companion's  anxiety  was  increasing,  thought 
it  best  to  reveal  everything.  The  King  and  his  family,  he 
said,  should  have  left  the  Tuileries  at  midnight ;  before  two 
hours  had  passed  they  would  be  here,  and  the  hussars  would 
escort  the  royal  carriage  to  Sainte-Menehould,  where  another 
detachment  was  stationed,  commanded  by  Captain  d'Andoins. 
At  Clermont  Colonel  de  Damas's  dragoons  were  quartered,  and 
they,  as  soon  as  the  royal  family  had  passed,  were  to  "  close 
the  road'*"'  and  stop  all  traffic  until  the  King  was  safely  in  the 
Chateau  de  Thonnelles,  near  Montmedy,  which  had  been 'pre- 
pared for  his  reception.  The  luggage-carrier  of  the  cabriolet 
in  which  Choiseul  and  Leonard  had  travelled  from  Paris  con- 
tained a  garment  worn  by  the  King  on  state  occasions — the 
red  and  gold  Cherbourg  coat — his  linen,  some  of  the  Queen's 
jewels,  and  Madame  Elizabeth's  diamonds.  Leonard  thought 
the  affair  would  be  the  death  of  him.  He  began  by  melting 
into  tears,  declaring  his  willingness  to  die  for  his  good  master 
and  mistress,  and  protesting  his  devotion,  and  ended  by 
"  dr3ring  his  eyes ""  and  sitting  down  to  the  table,  where  he 
dined  at  considerable  length. 

Here  a  problem  suggests  itself.  Why,  among  all  the  tried 
followers  who  composed  the  royal  circle,  was  this  brainless 
and  feeble  puppet  chosen  to  fulfil  the  office  of  scout  ?  Such 
men  as  Fersen  or  Brunier — the  physician  who  attended  the 
children  of  France — would  have  proved  their  usefulness  in 
quite  another  fashion.  Both  had  long  been  in  the  secret ; 
both  had  offered  their  services  for  the  journey.  Leonard,  on 
the  other  hand,  was  mistrusted,  since  as  long  as  such  a  course 
was  possible  everyone  was  careful  not  to  initiate  him  into  the 
plot,  and  he  was  only  informed  of  it  at  a  distance  of  forty 
leagues  from  Paris,  when  discretion  had  become  superfluous. 
Why,  then,  was  this  wig-maker  mixed  up  in  the  affair.? 
There  is  but  one  plausible  answer :  the  Queen  could  not  face 
the  thought  of  being  adorned  less  tastefully  at  Thonnelles 

commission.  I  ordered  some  dinner  for  the  soldiers,  and  we  sat  down, 
M.  le  Due,  M.  Boudet,  an  officer  in  the  Lauzuns  commanding  the  detach- 
ment I  had  just  brought  there,  M.  de  Goguelat,  the  adjutant-general,  and 

myself.     Our  dinner  was  short ;  we  were  counting  the  minutes.  .  .  " 

Aubriot's  Narrative,  appended  to  Choiseul's  Narrative. 

227  Q  2 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

than  at  the  Tuileries  ;  and  so  from  all  the  gentlemen  of  her 
Court  who  were  ready  to  give  their  lives  for  her,  from  that 
army  of  defenders  who  would  have  been  faithful  to  death,  she 
chose,  to  help  her  in  this  most  serious  event  of  her  life — her 
hairdresser.  And  in  accordance  with  the  tragic  justice  of 
events,  this  frivolity  was  fatal  to  her.  For  here  at  Pont-de- 
Somme-Vesle  the  peasants  were  crowding  round  the  hussars 
when  a  rumour  arose  that  a  levy  by  force  of  arms  was  immin- 
ent. A  riot  was  the  result,^  and  a  real  affray  wsis  on  the 
point  of  breaking  out.  Choiseul,  no  doubt  convinced  that 
the  royal  carriage  might  appear  at  any  moment,  tried  unsuc- 
cessfully to  gain  time,  but  the  King's  arrival  had  now  been 
delayed  by  three  hours,  and  it  became  a  question  whether  he 
had  not  been  stopped  at  Chalons.  Perhaps  even  he  had 
been  prevented  from  leaving  the  Tuileries.  In  the  face  of  the 
hostile  attitude  of  the  peasants  Choiseul  took  it  upon  himself 
to  withdraw  the  troops.  He  retired  with  them  across  the 
fields,  leaving  the  road  free,  after  having  instructed  Leonard 
to  continue  his  journey  in  the  cabriolet  to  Montmedy,^  and 
to  give  information  of  the  unfortunate  turn  of  events  to  the 
officers  of  the  detachments  at  Sainte-Menehould  and  Cler- 
mont. He  even  entrusted  him  with  a  note  to  show  to  them, 
containing  these  words  :  "  It  does  not  appear  as  if  the  Treasure 
would  pass  to-day.  To-morrow  you  will  receive  your  orders."" 
Thus  Leonard  was  unexpectedly  transformed  into  an  active 
agent  in  the  enterprise.  He  and  Boucher,  the  Duke's  valet, 
took  the  road  to  Sainte-Menehould,  where  he  must  have 
arrived  at  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening. 

In  dealing  with  a  matter  of  this  kind  one  should  bring  the 
greatest  caution  to  bear  upon  the  subject  before  venturing 

1  In  his  account  of  the  fight  between  his  men  and  the  peasants  Choiseul 
makes  this  interesting  remark  :  '*  There  was  a  great  deal  of  traffic  on  the 
road  ;  carriages  were  coming  and  going  all  the  time." 

2  "I  made  up  my  mind  to  send  my  cabriolet  (with  my  servant  and 
Leonard)  to  Montm4dy  by  way  of  Varennes.  I  enjoined  upon  Leonard  to 
explain  my  position  as  he  passed  to  M.  de  Damas,  young  de  Bouille,  and 
the  General  (de  Bouill^),  and  to  tell  them  I  was  waiting :  I  kept  Madame 
Elizabeth's  diamonds  with  me.  .  .  I  gave  my  servant  a  note  of  a  few  lines 
for  M.  d'Andoins  at  Sainte-Menehould,  in  which  I  told  him  that  I  was 
alarmed  at  this  extraordinary  delay,  and  that  I  might  perhaps  be  obliged 
to  draw  off  my  detachment,  whose  presence  was  disturbing  the  public 
peace  " — Choiseul's  Narrative. 

228 


THE   CASE   OF   MONSIEUR  LEONARD 


to  make  deductions.  One  may  be  permitted,  however,  to 
imagine  the  state  of  Leonard's  mind  when  he  left  M.  de 
Choiseul  at  Pont-de-Somme-Vesle.  Lately  but  a  simple 
valet,  he  now  found  himself  without  any  preparation  charged 
with  a  mission  which  made  him  in  a  certain  degree  the 
arbiter  of  the  King's  fate  and  of  the  destiny  of  the  nation. 
We  must  remember  that,  except  his  own  protestations, 
we  have  no  certain  evidence  that 
he  was  devoted  to  the  royal 
cause,  and  future  events  were  to 
give  abundant  proof  that  he  did 
not  allow  himself  to  be  incon- 
venienced by  scruples.  This  is  the 
kind  of  man,  then,  that  we  must 
imagine  travelling  towards  the 
frontier,  carrying  with  him  the 
King's  coat,  which  was  worth  a 
fortune,  and  the  Queen's  diamonds. 
M.  de  Choiseul  had  removed  those 
of  Madame  Elizabeth  from  the 
casket  and  was  carrying  them  on 
his  own  person.  Was  he,  perhaps, 
prompted  by  mistrust  ? 

At  [Sainte-Menehould  Leonard 
was  fairly  sparing  of  words.  He 
showed  d'Andoins  the  note  written 
by  the  Duke,  and  advised  him  to 
have  the  horses  unsaddled  and  the 

men  sent  back  to  their  quarters.     At  Clermont  he  gave  this 
note  to  M.  de  Damas,^  who,  however,  paid  no  attention  to  it. 

*  "  At  about  half  past  seven  a  post-chaise  arrived  [at  Clermont],  in  which 
I  recognised  M.  de  Choiseul's  valet  and  L^nard,  the  Queen's  hairdresser. 
They  stopped  and  gave  me  a  note  containing  these  words :  *  It  does  not 
appear  as  though  the  treasure  would  pass  through  to-day ;  I  am  oflF  to  join 
M.  de  Bouill^ ;  you  will  receive  fresh  orders  to-morrow.'  I  have  learnt 
since  that  the  same  message  was  sent  to  M.  d'Andoins  at  Sainte-M^nehould. 
Leonard  introduced  himself  to  me  as  being  acquainted  with  the  secret.  I 
asked  him  what  foundation  there  was  for  doubting  that  the  royal  family 
was  coming  through,  and  he  said  he  had  no  idea  ;  that  he  had  come  from 
Paris  with  M.  de  Choiseul,  and  had  left  him  at  Pont-de-Somme-Vesle  with 
a  detachment  of  hussars.  I  asked  him  if  he  had  seen  the  detachment  of 
dragoons  at  Sainte-M^nehould,  and  he  told  me  he  had  seen  some  dragoons 

229 


the  sign  of  the  "grand 
monarque"  hotel. 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

Nothing  now  devolved  upon  him  but  to  pursue  his  journey 

as  a  private  individual ;  he  was  no  longer  the  bearer  of  any 

message,  and  mere  discretion  demanded  that  in  such  serious 

circumstances  he  should  not  assume  a  responsibility  which  no 

one  had  laid  upon  him.     At  Varennes,  however,  where   he 

arrived  at  half-past  nine  in  the  evening,  we  find  him  putting 

on  airs  of  authority  and  giving  orders.     Two  young  officers 

were  stationed  there  in  command  of  some  men — a  son  of 

General  de  Bouille  and  M.  de  Raigecourt — who  were  keeping 

some  horses  in  readiness  for  the  royal  carriage.     It  was  a 

magnificent  night,  and  the  two  young  men,  after  taking  a 

stroll  about  the  town,  were  talking  together  upon  a  bench 

before  the  Grand  Monarqiie  hotel,^  when  Leonard's  cabriolet 

drove  up.     The  latter  assumed  an  air  of  great  importance, 

and  summoned  M.  de  Bouille  to  the  door  of  the  carriage. 

"  Ah,  ah,  I  am  very  glad  to  find  you  !   I  have  many  things  to 

tell  you.""     He  informed  the  astonished  officers  of  his  name 

and  station  in  life,  declaring  that  he  knew  everything,  and 

was  in  charge  of  the  Queen's  jewels,  and  assured  them  that 

the  King  must  have  been   stopped   at  Chalons.      "I  have 

informed  M.  de  Damas  of  this,  and   he  has  dispersed  his 

troops.     And   I   strongly  advise  you   to  leave   the  place; 

you  are   running  risks   in   staying    here:    there   is    a  riot 

going   on   at  Clermont;    I  had  great  difficulty  in   getting 

through.'' 2     He  repeated  over  and  over  again  that  he  knew 

near  the  posting-house  and  had  spoken  to  the  officer.  .  .  Leonard  con- 
tinued his  journey  to  Stenay.  .  ." — Damas'  Narrative. 

^  *'  At  about  half  past  nine  M.  de  Raigecourt  and  I  had  just  returned  to 
the  inn  and  were  standing  before  the  door,  when  we  saw  a  very  simple 
carriage  drive  up  and  stop  there." — Memoirs  of  Count  Louis  de  Bouille, 
quoting  the  account  of  his  brother  the  Chevalier. 

2  Here  is  the  scene,  as  described  to  me  by  the  Chevalier  de  Bouill6 : 
"A  man  whose  face  was  unknown  to  me  appeared  at  the  window  of  the 
carriage.  .  .  He  asked  in  a  very  loud  voice  if  I  were  not  M.  le  Chevalier 
de  Bouille.  I  answered  that  I  was.  '  Ah,  I  am  very  glad  to  find  you 
here  ;  I  have  a  great  deal  to  say  to  you.'  I  observed  that  I  had  not  the 
honour  of  knowing  him,  and  perceiving  that  a  crowd  was  beginning  to 
gather  round  the  carriage,  I  said  to  him  that  it  was  not  a  proper  place  to 
enter  into  conversation.     I  invited  him  to  alight  and  come  into  the  inn. 

*  I  shall  be  very  glad  to  do  so,  but  you  are  to  let  me  have  the  horses  you 
have  here.'  I  was  greatly  surprised  by  this  demand,  and  did  not  answer 
him.  When  we  were  in  a  room  in  the  hotel  he  repeated  his  demand.  I 
intimated  to  him  that  I  did  not  understand  what  he  was  talking  about. 

*  There  is  no  need  for  you  to  hide  anything  from  me ;  I  know  all.'  My 
surprise  increased  every  moment.     *  I  know  all,'  he  went  on ;  *  the  King 

230 


THE   CASE    OF  MONSIEUR  LEONARD 

all,  that  there  was  iwthing  that  need  he  kept  from  him. 
He  demanded  some  horses  and  went  off  at  last,  leaving 
the  officers  gi-eatly  discomfited.  They  must  have  been  so 
to  a  terrible  degree,  and  Leonard  must  have  given  them 
a  very  authoritative  assurance  of  the  King's  arrest  at  Chalons, 
for  when  at  about  one  o'clock  in  the  morning  M.  de  Damas, 
having  hastened  from  Clermont,  arrived  at  the  Grand 
Monarque  hotel,  he  found  the  house  shut  up,  and  was 
informed  "that  the  two  officers  who  had  been  staying 
there  with  a  relay  of  horses  had  left  in  a  gi*eat  huny  and 
had  taken  the  road  to  Stenay."" 

We  know  the  rest :  the  disorganisation  that  was  spread 
along  the  whole  route ;  the  disarming  of  the  men  and  their 
return  to  quarters ;  the  explanations  occasioned  by  this 
retreat  at  Sainte-Menehould  between  the  King  and  M. 
d'Andoins,  which  gave  Drouet  the  opportunity  of  recognis- 
ing Louis  XVI ;  the  missing  relay  of  horses  at  the  entrance 
to  Varennes ;  finally  the  arrest  and  recognition  of  the  fugi- 
tives— a  chain  of  fatal  circumstances  which  cannot  be  ex- 
plained if  we  ignore  Leonard's  strange  action  in  the  affair. 

It  was  strange  indeed.  One  chance  remained  to  him  of 
being  useful  to  the  royal  family.  If  he  had  hurried  on  to 
Stenay,  where  the  two  regiments  under  the  elder  M.  de 
Bouille  were  stationed,  his  tales  and  false  information  would 
certainly  have  decided  the  latter  to  take  his  troops  along  the 

has  left  Paris  ;  but  it  does  not  appear  as  though  he  had  been  able  to  con- 
tinue his  journey.  I  have  just  informed  M.  de  Damas  of  this ;  he  has 
drawn  off  his  men  ;  the  regiment  of  dragoons  has  mutinied,  and  there  has 
been  a  riot  at  Clermont ;  I  had  great  difficulty  in  getting  through.'  Seeing 
that  my  astonishment  grew  no  less,  he  added :  •  I  am  Leonard,  valet-de- 
chambre  and  hairdresser  to  the  Queen.  I  know  all.  In  my  carriage  I 
have  the  coat  worn  by  the  King  on  state  occasions,  and  the  Queen's  jewels  : 
I  am  going  to  Luxembourg,  where  I  am  to  await  the  Queen's  orders.  I 
shall  return  to  Montm^dy  if  the  King  goes  there.  I  am  afraid  of  being 
stopped  ;  I  absolutely  must  be  oflF.  Give  me  the  horses  you  have  here,  ana 
I  strongly  advise  you  to  go  away  yourself,  for  you  are  running  risks  by 
staying  here  longer.'  Seeing  that  he  was  indeed  acquainted  with  the 
whole  affair,  I  answered  that  my  orders  obliged  me  to  stay  at  Varennes 
till  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  that  I  had  no  choice  but  to  stay  ;  also 
that  I  should  very  certainly  not  give  him  any  horses.  *  Help  me  to  pro- 
cure some,  then,'  he  said,  'for  I  absolutely  must  start  at  once.'  I  was 
equally  anxious  for  him  to  start  .  .  .  and  appealed  to  the  inn-keeper  to 
try  and  procure  him  some  horses.  He  succeeded  in  getting  some  for  him, 
and  he  went  oflF."— Memoirs  of  Count  Louis  de  Bouille. 

231 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

Chalons  road ;  but  on  leaving  Varennes  Leonard'^s  postillion 
missed  his  way,  and  did  not  find  out  his  mistake  until  he  had 
travelled  seven  leagues,  and  was  at  the  gates  of  Verdun.^  He 
was  obliged  to  turn  back,  and  only  appeared  at  Stenay  late 
on  the  following  day,  when  the  King's  arrest  had  been  an 
accomplished  fact  for  some  hours,  and  there  was  no  longer 
any  hope  of  helping  him.  And  now  this  poor  man,  who  had 
talked  so  much  when  he  ought  to  have  been  silent,  was  unable 
to  answer  a  word  to  the  people  who  questioned  him.^  M.  de 
Bouille  has  recorded :  "  We  obtained  no  information  from  him 
as  to  the  King's  journey,  or  of  the  arrest  of  which  he  had  iiot 
heard :  his  ideas  were  so  much  confused  that  everything  he 
told  us  was  very  vague,  even  with  regard  to  M.  de  Choiseul." 

He  handed  over  to  M.  de  Bouille,  however,  the  casket  of 
diamonds  that  had  been  entrusted  to  him,  and  Bouille  gave 
it  into  the  charge  of  one  of  his  officers.  But  these  mysterious 
jewels,  like  enchanted  talismans,  were  fated  to  bring  ill-luck 
upon  all  who  had  them  in  their  keeping.  On  the  following 
day  the  officer  was  found  covered  with  wounds  and  almost 
dying  :  as  for  the  casket,  it  had  disappeared.^ 

Proceedings  were  instituted,  as  everyone  knows,  against 
Bouille  and  the  agents  in  the  King's  abduction.  The  Assembly 
had  devised  this  euphemism,  which  threw  the  responsibility 
of  the  enterprise  upon  the  royalist  party.  All  those  who  had 
taken  any  more  or  less  active  part  in  the  affair — whether  they 
had  emigrated  or  no — had  writs  issued  against  them.  It  is  a 
curious  fact  that  Leonard  was  not  indicted,  and  still  more 

1  Memoirs  of  Count  Louis  de  Bouill^.  "^  Ibid. 

2  "It  was  Leonard  the  Queen's  hairdresser  who  was  entrusted  with  the 
casket  containing  the  crown  diamonds.  The  sceptre  and  the  crown,  so  it 
is  declared,  arrived  safely  at  Luxembourg  ;  but  at  the  time  of  the  arrest 
Leonard  handed  over  to  M.  de  Damas  [the  chronicler  here  makes  a  slip  ; 
he  should  have  written  BouilW]  the  casket  in  which  were  the  other  jewels. 
M.  de  Damas  \de  BouilW]  entrusted  it  to  an  officer,  who  was  wounded  and 
carried  away  on  a  bed.  The  casket  disappeared." — Correspondance  Secrdte, 
published  by  Lescure,  June  30,  1791. 

We  must  point  out  that  the  crown  diamonds  were  not  in  the  casket,  but 
only  the  personal  jewels  of  the  Queen.  The  Assembly  ascertained,  as  early 
as  June  21,  that  the  crown  jewels  were  untouched,  and  that  the  Queen 
before  her  departure  had  returned  to  the  treasury — with  the  exception  of 
one  precious  stone — such  of  the  jewels  as  she  used  personally,  together 
with  a  number  of  others  that  were  her  private  property. — Parliamentary 
Archives,  Vol.  XXVII.,  p.  448. 


THE  CASE   OF  MONSIEUR  LEONARD 

curious  that  he  seemed  to  be  in  no  hurry  to  return  to  France, 
although  he  would  have  incurred  no  danger  in  doing  so. 
This  man,  who  was  so  anxious  to  allay  the  impatience  of  his 
noble  clients,  so  destitute  of  money  when  he  left  Paris  that 
he  was  uneasy  as  to  how  he  xvoiild  return^  fomid  means  of 
living  for  three  months  in  a  foreign  country  ^  without  any- 
thing being  heard  of  him.  So  long  an  absence  entailed,  as 
one  can  well  believe,  the  loss  of  clientele  ;  and  moreover,  when 
he  reappeared  in  Paris  he  continued  to  live  in  retirement. 
Either  because  the  times  were  not  propitious  for  the  exercise 
of  his  art,  or  because  he  thought  it  more  prudent  to  let  him- 
self be  forgotten,  it  would  appear  that  he  abandoned  the 
comb  and  courted  privacy  until  the  10th  August.^  It  might 
be  thought  that  on  the  establishment  of  the  Republic  he 
would  be  ranked  among  the  "suspects.'^  Not  at  all.  He 
obtained  employment  at  Versailles  ^  in  connection  with  army 
remounts,  and  was  occupying  this  peaceable  position  when  at 
last  the  Terror  laid  its  hand  upon  him.  He  was  arrested  in 
Messidor  of  the  year  II,  was  condemned  to  death  on  the 

^  National  Archives^  W.  432. 

*  After  August  10th,  having  taken  refuge  at  Versailles,  he  claimed  his 
possessions,  which  were  under  seal  at  the  Tuileries.  (In  justice  to  M. 
Leonard's  orthography,  the  letter  is  left  as  in  the  original.— Tmrw.) 

**  J'ai  I'honneur  de  mettre  sous  les  yeux  de  Messieurs  les  commissaires 
charges  des  scelles  du  ch&teau  des  Thuileries  que  moi,  hautier  [sic]  coiflFeur 
de  la  reine,  qiie  j'ait  une  chambre  cour  des  princes  br^sil  [?]  du  corridor 
noir,  escalier  No.  7,  sous  le  comble  dans  laquel  chambre  javois  les  eflFets 
que  je  sousraais  a  Messieurs  les  commissaires,  Scavoir  :  un  habit  et  veste 
abillt'S  rayes  d'une  rais  jeaune  gamis  de  boutons  d'acier, — un  frac  noir, 
boutons  noirs, — un  habit  et  veste  d'uniforme  du  d^partement  de  Versailles 
— une  redingote  de  piquet  blanc  et  son  pantalont, — une  ^p^  de  deuil,  un 
manchon,  un  parasol  de  tafetas  vert  (etc.  etc. ). 

"Certi£e  conforme  k  Versailles  le  9  Septembre,  1791,  Francois  Auti^ 
Leonard,  cadet,  coiffeur  de  la  reine."— ^a/tono/  Archives,  T.  1077. 

^  Here  is  a  note  found  in  his  dossier : — **  Very  suspect  on  account  of  the 
manners  he  affected  in  the  days  of  the  ancien  rdgime,  and  of  his  familiarity 
with  Marie  Antoinette,  as  shown  in  the  journey  to  Varennes,  He  was 
denounced  to  the  Conunittee  of  Public  Safety  as  having  been  the  bearer  of 
the  diamonds  of  Antoinette  and  Elizabeth  Capet  on  the  occasion  of  the 
journey  to  Varennes."- iVo/iona^  Archives,  W.  432. 

Some  lines  in  the  form  of  commandments  were  discovered  among  his 
possessions : — 

La  liberti  tu  pr6neras 
En  la  violant  totU  doucemerU, 
Les  biens  du  peuple  retiendras 
Sans  rendre  compte  aucunement,  etc. 
233 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

7th  Thermidor,^  and  figured  in  the  same  batch  as  Rouchet 
and  Andre  Chenier.  The  bodies  were  thrown  into  the  common 
trench  of  Picpus,  and,  as  was  the  custom,  the  death  of  the 
condemned  persons  was  formally  registered  in  accordance  with 
the  statement  delivered  to  the  executioner,  and  the  document 
handed  over  to  the  public  registrar.^ 

In  1814  Leonard  the  hairdresser  returned  from  Russia, 
where  he  had  spent  twenty  years. 

If  we  were  telling  the  story  of  Rocambole  no  one  would  be 
surprised  that  this  hero,  so  famous  for  his  successive  resurrec- 
tions, should  reappear  upon  the  scene  ;  but  on  the  part  of  a 
person  who  is  not  concerned  with  clearing  up  the  plot  of  a 
novel  such  an  apparition  is,  to  say  the  least  of  it,  unusual. 
There  is,  however,  no  room  for  scepticism.  Jean  Francois 
Autie,  alias  Leonard,  who  was  guillotined  with  every  official 
formality  in  the  year  II,  was  still  alive  at  the  time  of  the 
Restoration.  In  the  Quotidienne  of  March  16,  1838,  his 
nephew,  Joseph  Clair  Auguste  Autie,  hairdresser,  of  No.  10 
Rue  de  Bellechasse — the  son  of  the  Chevalier — protested 
against  the  publication  of  some  very  apocryphal  memoirs 
which  were  attributed  by  Lamotte-Langon  to  the  man  who 
had  once  been  Marie  Antoinette*'s  hairdresser,  and  declared 
"  that  he  had  never  been  parted  from  his  uncle  after  1814, 
the  year  of  his  return  to  France,  until  the  time  of  his  death."" 
Moreover,  his  death  certificate — the  second — was  among  the 
public  registers  of  Paris  before  the  fire  of  1871,  and  I  believe 
the  learned  Alfred  Regis  possessed  an  authentic  copy  of  it. 
It  was  dated  March  24,  1820.^ 

There  is,  then,  no  doubt  of  his  survival ;  but  it  would  be 
immensely  interesting  to  know  how  Leonard  contrived  to 
figure  among  the  number  of  the  guillotined,  at  the  same 
time  avoiding  the  disagreeable  formality  that  conferred  an 
incontestable  right  to  that  position. 

D'Estourmel  in  his  Souvenirs  tells  the  very  exciting  story  of 
a  condemned  man  who,  having  alighted  from  the  cart  at  the 
foot  of  the  scaffold  in  the  Place  de  la  Revolution,  and  being 

1  L'Intermddiaire,  No.  529. 

^  See  U InterTnAdiaire  des  chercheurs  et  curieux,  No.  532. 

*  L^Interm6diaire,  Nos.  529  and  531. 

234 


N°.  506. 

L'AMI    D  U    PE  UP  L  E, 

o   u 

LE    PUBLICISTE    PARISIEN. 

JOURNAL   POLITIQUE  ET  IMPARTIAL, 

ParM.MARAT,auteurde  I'Offrande  a  lapatrie, 
duMoniteur,  du  plan  de  constitution,  &c. 

Vitan  impendtrt  vero. 

Du  Jeudi   30  Juin   1791. 

Observations  sur  les  declarations  de  Louis  at 
d'Antoinette.  —  Contradictions,  fausseie's, 
mensonges  el  impostures  grossieres  dont 
elles  sont  tissues. — Effrbnterie  avec  laqueile 
le  comit^  autrichien  ,  qui  les  a  dictees , 
insulte  i  la  na:ion  —  Motifs  urgcns  dc  des- 
tituer  et  de  renfermer  le  gros  Capet  qui 
s'est  mis  a  jouer  le  fou  et  I'enrage,  pour 
endormir  les  Parisient  sur  son  nouveau  pro- 
jet  d 'evasion. 

Les  rois ,  comme  les  autres  hommei,  none 
droit  aux  respects  de  leurs  concitoyens  qu'au- 
tarn  qu'ils  ont  des  vertus.  A  la  mani^rc  dont 
Louis  Capet  a  ordonne  sa  vie,  il  parait  bien 
qu'il  s'embarasse  asser  peu  de  cetie  grandc 
v^rit^,  ou  si  Ton  veiil  qu'il  „g  sen  dome  pas. 


NEWSPAPER   STAINED   WITH    ^IARAT's   BLOOD. 

From  the  Baron  de  Vinck's  Collection. 


THE  CJfSe^aEi^ONSIEUR  LEONARD 


twentieth  on  the  list,  looked  on,  with  his  hands  bound  to  his 
sides  and  his  hair  cut  short,  while  his  companions  in  mis- 
fortune were  executed.  When  the  business  was  half  com- 
pleted the  machine  became  out  of  order,  and  while  it  was 
being  repaired  by  the  executioner's  assistants  the  ten  un- 
fortunate survivors  stood  there  upon  the  road  awaiting 
death,  surrounded  by  a  circle  of  gendarmes.  Behind  them  the 
onlookers  were  pushing  up  to  see  the  sight,  though  the  crowd 
was  small,  for  it  was  late  and  night  was  falling.  Either 
because  the  cruel  delay  had  exhausted  his  endurance,  or 
because  he  had  observed  among  the  bystanders  some  signs  of 
pity,  the  condemned  man  in  question  leant  against  one  of  the 
gendarmes  who  formed  the  circle.  Suddenly,  without  a  word 
or  sign  being  exchanged,  he  felt  that  a  space  was  opening 
between  the  guard  and  his  neighbour.  The  condemned  man 
slipped  through  the  gap,  and  immediately  the  line  closed  up 
behind  him.  He  stood  there  motionless,  breathless  with 
suppressed  emotion,  in  the  first  row  of  the  spectators,  expect- 
ing to  be  recaptured,  when  suddenly  a  hand  placed  a  hat 
upon  his  head,  and  he  understood  that  the  people  who 
surrounded  him  were  conniving  at  his  escape.  Stepping 
backwards  gradually  while  pretending  to  stand  on  tiptoe  so 
as  to  see  better,  he  soon  found  himself  outside  the  crowd. 
Then,  with  the  air  of  a  man  taking  a  stroll  with  his  hands 
behind  his  back,  he  reached  the  deserted  side  of  the  square, 
and  then  the  dark  paths  of  the  Champs-^^lysees.  From  that 
vantage-ground  he  was  able  to  assure  himself  that  the  execu- 
tion was  finished  without  any  incident.  Sanson  doubtless 
did  not  count  his  victims,  and  as  the  death  certificates  were 
drawn  up  in  accordance  with  the  statement  delivered  to  the 
executioner,  the  number  that  evening  was  the  same  as  usual. 
The  man  was  saved.  He  spent  the  night  in  a  ditch,  and  at 
daybreak,  accosting  a  market-gardener  who  was  coming  down 
from  Chaillot,  he  told  him  some  tale  about  a  bet  that  he  had 
made  with  some  friends  and  had  lost  in  his  cups,  showed  his 
bound  hands,  and  begged  the  man  to  help  him  out  of  his 
plight.  The  peasant,  who  thoroughly  relished  the  story  of 
the  joke,  willingly  consented. 

Vaublanc,  in  his  Mtmoires  sur  la  Revolution,  tells  a  similar 

235 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

story,  and  supports  it  with  details  that  are  identically  the  same. 
He  even  gives  the  name  of  the  man  who  so  miraculously 
escaped  the  knife  of  the  guillotine.  He  was  called  de 
Chateaubrun,  and  was  still  alive  under  the  restored  monarchy. 
Neither  the  extremely  accurate  tables  of  Campardon  nor  those 
of  Wallon  make  any  mention  of  this  condemned  man  ;  but 
the  anecdote  may  be  none  the  less  true,  since  many  of  the 
nobles  had  a  family  name  preceding  the  de,  which  they  did 
not  ordinarily  use,  but  by  which  they  were  called  before  the 
Revolutionary  Tribunal.  In  any  case,  the  story  shows  how 
a  condemned  man,  handed  over  to  the  executioner  and 
subsequently  certified  to  be  dead,  might  nevertheless  be 
quite  alive,  although  officially  entered  in  the  register  of  deaths. 

If,  however,  Leonard  had  owed  his  life  to  so  uncertain  a 
chance,  there  would  have  been  no  reason  to  make  a  mystery  of 
it.  He  remained  obstinately  silent  as  to  the  strangeness  of 
his  case,  and  since  we  know  the  fatuity  of  the  man,  we  can 
only  conclude  that  there  was  nothing  to  boast  of  in  the  affair, 
which  gives  us  reason  to  think  that  some  unfortunate  person 
had  been  substituted  for  him  during  the  hours  between  his 
condemnation  and  his  removal  from  prison,  and  had  taken  his 
place  upon  the  scaffold. 

There  is  nothing  inherently  improbable  in  this  solution. 
Lombard  de  Langres  declares  that  on  a  certain  day  one  of 
the  victims  was  missing  when  the  names  were  called  over. 
Sanson  would  not  be  defrauded :  he  had  been  given  thirty- 
eight  "  death-papers,"  and  he  insisted  on  having  his  thirty- 
eight  "  clients.'"  As  the  jailers  were  scouring  the  whole  prison 
in  vain,  one  of  the  prisoners,  sick  of  living,  presented  himself 
at  the  registrar's  table,  saying,  "  Bah !  I  or  another,  what 
difference  does  it  make  to  you  ?  Take  me.'*'  And  he 
voluntarily  completed  the  tale  of  victims.  Although  the 
authenticity  of  this  story  is  vouched  for  by  Lombard  de 
Langres,  we  cannot  accept  it  as  it  stands.  Matters  were  not 
conducted  in  this  way  at  the  Conciergerie.  But  there  were 
there  a  number  of  Bretons  and  Alsacians  and  men  from 
Mayence,  who  every  day  saw  the  terrible  emptying  of  the 
prison,  but  knew  nothing  of  the  revolutionary  procedure 
except  that  those  who  were  taken   away  were  led  to  the 

236 


THE   CASE   OF   MONSIEUR  LEONARD 

scaffold.  What  would  be  easier  than  to  choose  one  of 
these  poor  wretches,  who  had  no  protector,  no  notoriety,  no 
relations,  no  dossier  even,  and  who  knew  not  one  word  of 
French,  and  to  hustle  him  off  to  the  registrar's  office? 
Then  his  hair  would  be  cut  off,  and  he  would  be  bound  and 
pushed  into  the  cart.  He  could  be  relied  upon  not  to  pro- 
test.    To  whom  should  he  protest,  indeed,  and  how .? 

But  a  trick  of  this  kind  was  expensive.  It  was  necessary 
to  secure  the  complicity  of  a  jailer,  of  the  porter,  and  of  the 
registrar — all  of  them  people  to  be  bought,  it  is  true,  but 
only  at  a  high  price.  Here  one's  mind  reverts  to  the  casket 
containing  the  Queen's  jewels,  which,  owing  to  the  King's 
arrest  at  Varennes,  was  left  in  Leonard's  hands  and  disap- 
peared so  mysteriously  on  the  very  morrow  of  the  day  on 
which  he  was  obliged  to  give  it  up.  If  one  cannot  carry  sacks 
of  silver  or  piles  of  gold  to  prison  with  one,  diamonds,  on  the 
other  hand,  are  easy  to  conceal,  and  are  always  current  coin, 
especially  when  paper  money  is  common. 

I  do  not  say  that  these  things  occurred ;  I  am  but  seeking 
a  solution  of  the  three  enigmas  to  which  the  undeniable  facts 
give  rise  :  the  unaccountable  conduct  of  Leonard  during  the 
night  of  the  drama  of  Varennes,  which  could  hardly  have  been 
otherwise  if  he  had  wished  the  royal  can'iage  to  be  stopped  ; 
his  extraordinary  experiences  as  a  guillotined  man  who  was 
nevertheless  in  perfect  health  ;  and  his  surprising  silence  with 
regard  to  these  facts,  when  it  would  have  been  to  his  advan- 
tage to  make  the  most  of  them  if  they  had  been  creditable 
to  him.  Why  did  he  never  tell  his  story  .?  It  was  certainly 
worth  the  trouble,  and  he  had  both  time  and  means.  In  1818 
he  was  Superintendent  of  Burials,  and  it  must  have  been  an 
edifying  sight  to  see  him — the  gay  Leonard,  once  the  Queen's 
hairdresser — marching  in  short  breeches  and  mourning  cloak, 
with  a  black  cane  in  his  hand,  at  the  head  of  a  funeral  pro- 
cession. And  when  the  chances  of  his  office  took  him  to  the 
cemetery  of  Picpus,  where  were  buried  all  those  who  perished 
with  him  on  the  scaffold,  he  must  have  experienced  the  most 
unusual  sensations. 

He  died — finally — at  the  age  of  sixty-two,  in  the  Rue 
Saint-Thomas-du-Louvre,  in  1820. 

237 


CHAPTER  X 

PlSRE  SAUCE 

The  building  at  Varennes-en-Argonne  that  is  locally  known 
as  Louis  XVI's  house  was  recently  offered  for  sale.  It  is  the 
house  in  which  the  royal  family  remained  for  seven  hours 
during  the  night  of  June  21st,  1791. 

To-day  it  is  a  very  ordinary  house,  with  no  special  charac- 
teristics. It  has  a  quiet,  neat  appearance,  and  stands  facing 
the  Rue  de  la  Basse  Cour,  which  is  the  main  artery  of  the 
place.  In  1845,  the  departmental  road  from  Bar  to  Dun 
having  been  promoted  to  the  dignity  of  a  royal  road,  it 
became  necessary  to  widen  the  roadway  in  the  town,  and 
seven  properties  that  jutted  out  were  encroached  upon. 
Louis  XVI's  house  lost  5  metres  88  centimetres  of  ground, 
which  robbed  it  of  its  entire  frontage.  The  owner  received 
an  indemnity  of  403  francs  80  centimes,^  which  is  not  a  large 
price  for  the  facade  of  an  historical  building. 

It  is  to  this  freak  of  fortune  that  the  famous  house  owes  its 
present  commonplace  appearance,  its  plaster  cornices,  its 
Venetian  blinds,  and  its  door  with  the  panel  of  wrought 
iron.  In  1791  it  was  a  nice  old  place,  built  entirely  of 
wood,  as  was  the  custom  of  the  country,  with  a  shop 
lighted  by  two  windows  that  would  not  open.  To  enter  the 
house  it  was  necessary  to  pass  through  the  shop.  The  door, 
which  was  composed  of  one  leaf  only,  was  divided  horizontally 
in  the  middle,  and  the  upper  part,  which  was  not  glazed,  was 
only  closed  at  night.  At  the  back  of  the  shop,  in  the  left- 
hand  corner,  near  the  kitchen-door,  a  narrow,  unlighted 
^  Memoir es  du  Odniral  Eadet,  note  19. 


PteRE   SAUCE 


J.    B.   SAUCK. 


wooden  staircase,  with  a  cord  by  way  of  a  handrail,  led  up  to 
the  first  story.  Here  there  were  two  rooms — a  large  one  in 
front,  and  a  smaller  one  separated  from  the  first  by  a  dark 
passage  which  served  as  a  landing  for  the  staircase.  This 
second  room  looked  out  over 
a  little  yard,  connected  with 
a  lane  that  was  always 
deserted. 

This  building,  destined  to 
be  for  a  few  hours  a  royal 
residence,  was  occupied  at 
the  time  of  the  Revolution 
by  that  excellent  man  Jean 
Baptiste  Sauce,  the  grocer 
and  chandler  whom  we  have 
seen  figuring  in  our  story. 
He  was  bom  at  Varennes  in 
1755,  and  married  at  the 
age  of  nineteen  to  Marie 
Jeanne  Founiel  of  Varennes, 
by  whom  he  had  three  sons 

and  a  daughter.  Auguste,  the  eldest  of  the  boys,  was 
sixteen  years  of  age  in  1791,  while  the  youngest,  Francois 
Clement,  was  five,  and  the  little  girl,  Felicite,  was  nine.^ 

^  Jean  Baptiste  Sauce,  bom  at  Varennes  on  the  4th  March,  1755, 
married  Marie  Jeanne  Foumel,  and  had  issue  : — 

A.  Jean  Baptiste  Felix  Auguste,  born  at  Varennes  14th  Dec,  1775. 
Private  soldier  in  the  Ist  battalion  of  the  Meuse,  June  9th,  1792.  Second- 
lieutenant  Dec.  Ist,  1792.  Volunteer  in  the  Ist  battalion  of  the  Chasseurs 
of  the  Meuse,  June  Ist,  1793.  Second-lieutenant  24th  Brumaire,  year  IV. 
Lieutenant  6th  Germinal,  year  VII.  Captain  11th  Messidor,  year  XII. 
Major  Sept.  18th,  1811.  Captain  in  the  6th  regiment  of  Rifles  of  the 
Guard  on  the  same  day.  Major  on  half-pay  at  headquarters  March  23rd, 
1813.  On  half-pay  March  1st,  1816.  Died  unmarried  at  Saint-Mihiel 
Dec.  31st,  1859.— Archives  of  the  War  Office. 

B.  Jean  Baptiste,  born  at  Varennes  Sept.  29th,  1777,  died  at  Saint- 
Mihiel,  Nov.  10th,  1852.  Superintendent  of  police.  He  married  Anne 
Cavalerie,  and  had  four  children,  whose  descendants  are  now  alive. 

C.  Marie  Anne  Felicite,  bom  at  Varennes  Jan.  18th,  1782 ;  married, 
first,  Hyacinthe  Laurent,  and  secondly  Joseph  Goujet. 

D.  Francois  C16ment,  born  at  Varennes  in  1786  ;  married  Josephine  Dodo. 
Died  at  Saint-Mihiel  April  1st,  1821. 

To  these  four  children  whose  names  are  furnished  by  the  parish  registers 
we  must  add  a  certain  Genevieve  Sauce,  aged  nineteen  in  1793,  who  made 
the  following  deposition  before  the  tribunal  of  Saint-Mihiel  on  the  occasion 

239 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

Sauce,  though  his  education  was  meagre,  as  we  may  see  by 
his  orthography,  was  so  much  esteemed  by  his  neighbours  that 
he  had  been  elected  procureur-syndk  of  the  commune,  and  in 
the  absence  of  George,  the  Mayor,  who  was  the  local  deputy 
to  the  National  Assembly,  he  was  the  chief  magistrate  of 
Varennes.  His  long  thin  face,  his  tall  and  slightly  stooping 
figure^  his  serious  deportment  and  deliberate  gait,  gave  him, 
in  spite  of  the  fact  that  he  was  but  thirty-six  years  of  age, 
the  appearance  of  an  old  man.  He  was  known  as  Pere 
Sauce. 

One  would  give  a  good  deal  to  know  in  detail  how  this 
worthy  tradesman  passed  his  time  on  June  21st,  1791,  the 
day  before  the  catastrophe  to  which  he  owed  his  fame.  If 
anyone  had  prophesied  to  him  on  that  day  that  he  was  on 
the  point  of  playing  a  "  star  part ''  in  history  he  would  cer- 
tainly have  doubted  the  truth  of  the  revelation.  Fame  fell 
at  his  feet  like  an  aerolite.  The  day  before  the  event  he  was 
completely  unknown ;  the  day  after  it  he  was  honoured  and 
scorned,  congratulated  and  cursed,  by  the  whole  of  Europe. 

Another  man  might  perhaps  have  felt  a  presentiment.  On 
the  20th  a  strong  detachment  of  hussars  had  marched  through 
to  Chalons,  disturbing  the  accustomed  calm  of  Varennes, 
which  was  far  from  all  the  main  roads  ;  on  the  21st  some 
more  hussars — about  sixty — had  taken  up  their  quarters  in 
Varennes  itself,  and  Sauce  had  lodged  them  in  the  disused 
convent  of  the  Cordeliers.  He  had  been  assured  that  these 
troops  were  to  secure  a  safe  passage  for  a  treasure,  and  that  a 

of  Radet's  trial :  "  Declared  that  at  the  time  of  the  arrest  of  Louis  Capet 
at  Varennes,  Radet  came  to  the  house  of  the  deponeyiVs  father  to  know  what 
was  going  to  be  done  with  that  traitor ;  that  the  deponent's  father  and 
mother  answered  that  he  must  be  persuaded  to  return  to  Paris;  that 
Radet,  having  gone  up  to  the  corridor  that  led  to  the  room  where  that 
scoundrel  was  lying  down,  had  found  Choiseul  at  the  door,"  etc. 

From  this  list  of  names  we  gather  that — with  possible  omissions — the 
children  of  the  Sauce  family  in  June,  1791,  were  Genevieve,  seventeen 
years  of  age ;  Auguste,  fifteen  and  a  half ;  Jean  Baptiste,  fourteen  ; 
Felicity,  nine  and  a  half  ;  and  Clement,  about  five. 

We  cannot  sufficiently  express  our  gratitude  to  M.  Charles  Bazoche, 
honorary  notary  at  Commercy,  who,  during  several  years  while  we  were 
carrying  on  our  researches  on  the  subject  of  Varennes,  allowed  us  to  draw 
upon  his  profound  learning  and  to  make  use  of  his  collection  of  preciou 
documents  touching  people  and  things  connected  with  the  department  oi 
the  Meuse,     We  beg  him  to  accept  our  respectful  thanks. 

240 


PfeRE   SAUCE 

considerable  camp  was  being  formed  under  the  walls  of  Mont- 
medy.  Moreover,  a  general  and  several  officers  of  high  rank 
were  lodging  in  the  Grand  Manarque  hotel,  where  a  relay  of 
horses  had  been  made  ready.  Honest  Sauce  had  no  sus- 
picions. There  is  a  letter  still  existing  which  he  wrote  on  that 
very  21st  June  to  an  unknown  correspondent,  and  there  is 
nothing  to  be  read  between  its  lines  but  a  naive  pleasure  in 
the  fact  that  the  town  for  whose  welfare  he  was  responsible 
was  becoming  quite  important.  "General  Volgta" — one 
should  read  Goguelat ;  Sauce  had  an  incorrigible  habit  of 
mangling  proper  names — "  General  Voltga  is  here,  and  has 
expressed  to  me  his  satisfaction  at  the  courteous  way  in  which 
we  have  lodged  his  troops.  ...  A  hussar  of  Sterazie''s  regi- 
ment""— he  means  Esther azifs — "has  arrived  here  with  his 
horses,  to  wait  for  that  general.*"  This  was  the  relay  of  horses 
prepared  for  the  royal  carriage.  And  Sauce  adds  :  "  What 
do  you  think  now  of  our  fine  town  ?  Generals,  aides-de-camp, 
colonels — these  are  the  people  that  come  to  see  us  !  And  you 
still  believe  that  we  are  not  a  real  metropolis  !  These  gentle- 
men consider  war  to  be  impracticable  just  now,  so  there  is 
nothing  to  be  uneasy  about.*" 

These  words,  "  nothing  to  be  uneasy  about,*"  were  certainly 
the  last  that  Sauce  wrote  before  "  his  great  misfortune.""  And 
indeed  Varennes  had  never  been  more  peaceful.  In  the  cool 
of  the  evening  the  hussars  strolled  about  on  the  banks  of  the 
Aire,  while  the  girls  sat  before  the  doors  twining  garlands  for 
the  Corpus  Christi  procession,  which  was  fixed  for  the  day 
after  the  morrow.  By  ten  o"'clock  the  whole  town  was  abed. 
Sauce  had  been  asleep  for  more  than  an  hour  and  a  half  when 
someone  battered  violently  at  the  door  of  his  shop  ;  then,  as 
he  did  not  wake  at  once,  the  blows  were  repeated,  and  a  voice 
full  of  distress  and  agitation  called  to  him  from  the  street. 
He  ran  to  the  window.  "  What  is  the  matter  ? ""  "  Come 
quickly,  Pere  Sauce ;  the  King  and  Queen  are  here ! "" 

The  King  and  Queen  !     Who  can  ever  know  the  thoughts 

that  passed  through  the  brain  of  the  grocer  as  he  heard  this 

itounding  news  .?     What  should  he  do?     Where  should  he 

i?  What  should  he  say  ?  One  can  imagine  the  excitement 
lu  that  disordered  room  :  Sauce  hastily  pulling  on  his  breeches ; 

241  a 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

his  wife  jumping  up,  hearing  the  news,  sitting  there  dum- 
founded  and  stupid ;  the  children  running  down  to  the  door 
with  their  feet  bare  to  see  all  they  could ;  and  Sauce,  plunged 
suddenly  without  warning  from  his  quiet  slumbers  into  the 
midst  of  a  tragedy,  standing  in  the  street,  lantern  in  hand, 
stopping  the  berline,  facing  the  travellers,  and  demanding 
their  passport.     We  have  already  told  the  facts. 

The  King,  the  Queen,  the  Dauphin  and  his  sister,  Madame 
Elizabeth,  Madame  de  Tourzel,  two  women-of-the-bedchamber 
— Madame  Brunier  and  Madame  Neuville — and  the  three 
bodyguards,  after  spending  Ja  few  minutes  at  the  Bras  cTOr 
inn,  were  taken  to  Sauce's  shop,  escorted  by  more  or  less  of  a 
crowd.  Sauce''s  children  had  run  into  the  streets  crying 
"  Fire  !  *"  to  give  the  alarm,  and  all  the  inhabitants  of 
Varennes  had  sprung  from  their  beds,  and  hearing  the  news 
had  run  to  the  spot,  where  they  now  stood  with  gaping 
mouths,  staring  at  the  house. 

Meantime  the  captives,  having  crossed  Sauce''s  shop,  had 
been  taken  up  to  the  back  room  on  the  first  floor  where  the 
three  boys  slept.  To-day,  when  one  looks  at  that  narrow,  low 
room,  where  nothing  has  been  changed,  one  is  surprised  that 
so  many  people  could  pass  a  whole  night  in  such  a  wretched 
hole.  It  is,  however,  quite  certain,  as  many  depositions 
testify,  that  the  prisoners  passed  backwards  and  forwards 
from  one  room  to  the  other,  and  were  not  confined  all  the 
time  in  "  the  room  at  the  back,*"  which,  despite  its  two 
windows,  is  of  the  size  and  appearance  of  an  inferior  servant's 
room. 

It  is  useless  to  relate  afresh  the  end  of  that  famous  night : 
the  arrival  of  the  hussars  and  their  insubordination,  the  vain 
attempts  to  rescue  the  royal  family,  the  King's  indolent 
patience,  the  patriotic  obstinacy  of  the  peasants  of  Varennes, 
the  arrival  of  the  emissaries  of  the  Parisian  National  Guard. 
The  most  attractive  feature  of  the  whole  affair  is  the  per- 
sonality of  Sauce,  that  worthy  fellow  whose  house  was 
suddenly  invaded  by  the  world's  history,  yet  who — and  this 
was  rare  at  the  time — adopted  no  theatrical  pose,  nor 
thought  himself  to  be  acting  the  hero's  part  in  a  tragedy. 
He   was   not,   like   some    others,    "  nourished    on    classical 


1 


PfeRE    SAUCE 

antiquity " ;  this  hero  was  frankly  ignorant  of  Livy  and  the 
elder  Pliny  ;  and  it  is  refreshing  to  find,  in  these  days  of  the 
Revolution,  a  person  who  did  his  duty  like  an  honest  French 
peasant  without  comparing  himself  to  Brutus  or  quoting  a 
sentence  from  Tacitus.  He  was  even  so  unique  a  phe- 
nomenon as  to  abstain  from  alluding  to  the  King  as 
Tiberius  or  Tarquin,  whose  names  he  had  doubtless  never 
heard.  He  was  agitated  and  confused ;  he  did  not  know 
which  way  to  turn  ;  he  ran  about  hither  and  thither,  calming 
one  and  reassuring  another ;  and  Louis  XVI,  who  was 
paralysed  with  shyness  in  the  presence  of  eloquent  politicians 
and  famous  statesmen,  found  in  this  gentle  grocer  a  kindred 
soul.  He  was  quite  at  his  ease,  and  took  courage  to  talk 
confidentially  and  sympathetically.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
if  his  stay  at  Varennes  had  been  prolonged  Sauce  would  have 
become  one  of  "  his  friends.''"* 

The  Committee  of  Inquiries  instituted  by  the  National 
Assembly  had,  on  the  first  news  of  the  King'*s  flight,  given 
orders  that  all  correspondence  of  suspicious  origin  should  be 
retained  and  read  by  the  postal  authorities.  Among  the 
Archives  there  are  several  portfolios  full  of  letters  inter- 
cepted in  this  way,  and  the  letter  from  Sauce  that  is  quoted 
above  was  thus  preserved.  There  is  another,  and  more 
valuable,  letter  of  his,  in  which  he  describes  to  a  friend  the 
night  of  June  21st.  "The  King  and  his  family,"'  he  writes, 
"  were  travelling  with  a  false  passport  signed  Louh,  and 
lower  down  Mojimorin,  which  permitted  the  Duchesse  de 
Durfort "" — the  passport,  as  we  know,  was  made  out  in  the 
name  of  the  Baronne  de  KorfF,  but  Sauce  persists  in  dis- 
figuring proper  names — "  to  leave  France  for  Frankfort  with 
her  children  and  her  valets-de-chambre.  Having  been  warned 
of  the  secret  schemes  of  certain  suspected  persons,  I  stopped 
the  carriages  at  eleven  o'clock  in  the  evening,  and  took  the 
seven  fugitives  to  my  house :  the  King,  the  Queen,  the 
Dauphin,  Madame  Premiere,  Madame  Elizabeth,  an  aunt 
of  the  King's "' — this  was  Madame  de  Tourzel — "  and  a  young 
lady  who  is  said  to  be  Monsieur's  wife" — Madame  Neuville. 
"  The  fugitives  were  recognised,  and  the  King  embraced  me 
and  clasped  me  in  his  arms,  saying  to  me,  the  King  himself  : 

243  H  % 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

'  Yes,  I  am  leaving  public  life,  my  dear  friend,  to  live  in  your 
midst.  I  wish  to  go  to  Montmedy."  He  told  me  several 
things  that  I  will  repeat  to  you  another  time.  I  temporised, 
hoping  for  help.  At  last,  when  daylight  came  and  we  had 
found  help,  I,  together  with  two  delegates  from  the  Paris 
Guard,  announced  to  our  august  visitors  that  they  must 
retrace  their  way.  The  jKing  fell  into  a  rage,  and  tried  to 
gain  time  by  going  to  sleep,  because  he  was  expecting  the 
Royal  Germans  and  some  of  the  Royal  Dragoons.  Finally  I 
urged  upon  their  Majesties  to  think  the  matter  over,  and  to 
fulfil  the  desire  of  the  people  who  adored  them ;  they  started 
off,  and  went  to  Clermont  with  more  than  fifteen  thousand 
men.  ...     I  will  tell  you  the  rest.""  ^ 

Other  letters  dated  from  Varennes  on  the  day  after  the 
arrest  depict,  better  than  any  of  the  narratives,  the  disturb- 
ance and  agitation  of  the  little  town.  Here  are  two 
addressed  by  the  wife  of  Judge  Destez  to  her  dear  mamma  at 
Versailles.  She  describes  the  circumstances  with  surprising 
enthusiasm,  and  even  acrimony. 

"  Sauce  came  at  midnight  to  wake  up  my  husband  to  go 
and  inspect  the  faces  of  those  people.  When  he  had  seen 
them  he  had  no  doubt  as  to  who  they  were.  The  Queen  and 
Madame  Elizabeth,  seeing  that  they  were  recognised,  looked 
very  sulky.  You  must  allow  that  Varennes  has  immortalised 
itself  by  the  way  it  has  behaved  ;  if  it  had  not  been  for  our 
procureur  of  the  commune  the  affair  would  not  have  come 
off.  You  should  have  seen  how  the  people  ran  in  from  the 
whole  countryside,  and  how  those  that  came  were  received. 
As  far  as  we  are  concerned,  it  has  cost  us  a  great  deal  in 
bread,  wine,  beer,  bacon,  beds,  etc.,  etc.,  not  forgetting  the 
bustle  and  fatigue,  and  all  the  consequences  of  such  a  sudden 
alarm.  I  must  not  forget  to  tell  you  that  the  detachment  of 
hussars  who  are  here  behaved  like  angels ;  if  they  had  insisted 
on  obeying  we  should  have  been  lost." 

And  further  on : 

"Sauce,  our  procureur  of  the  commune,  has  just  been 
telling  me  extraordinary  things.     The  King  and  Queen  told 

^  G.  Fischbach,  La  fuite  de  Louis  X  VI  d^aprda  les  archives  municipales 
de  Strasbourg. 


::^Saai 


PteRE   SAUCE 

him,  with  tears  in  their  eyes,  that  if  they  had  not  left  Paris 
they  would  have  been  murdered  by  the  Orleans  party.  They 
made  him  endless  confidences  of  the  kind.  They  burnt  in 
his  house  an  enormous  mass  of  papers  which  he  is  much 
annoyed  at  not  having  seized  ;  but  he  was  not  in  the  room  at 
the  moment ;  he  had  gone  out  to  give  some  orders.  The 
whole  of  France  owes  thanks  to  Sauce.  If  it  had  not  been 
for  him  and  his  determination  the  King  would  have  gone  on, 
and  if  it  had  not  been  for  his  discretion  there  would  have 
been  a  number  of  people  killed."  ^ 

And  indeed  it  is  true  enough  thatjthe  poor  man  who  was  to 
pay  so  dearly  for  the  melancholy  honour  of  having  entertained 
the  King  deserved  to  be  held  up  as  a  model  of  civic  courage. 
To  be  startled  out  of  his  sleep  to  control  the  destinies  of 
France  without  a  moment's  warning  is  a  dangerous  situation 
for  a  simple  village  grocer,  and  all  the  more  difficult  that  his 
personal  bias  was  obviously  in  favour  of  the  King.  Sauce, 
from  a  sense  of  duty,  remained  inflexibly  firm  before  the 
entreaties  of  Marie  Antoinette,  who  had  succeeded  in  winning 
Mirabeau  and  was  soon  to  move  the  heart  of  Bamave.  If 
Varennes  ever  raises  a  monument  to  commemorate  the  event 
that  has  made  its  name  famous,  a  bust  of  Sauce  would  only 
be  a  just  compensation  for  the  miseries  which  his  moderation 
and  firmness  brought  upon  this  "  obscure  martyr."  For  to 
return  to  "  the  thanks  of  the  whole  of  France,"  which  he  had 
every  right  to  expect — we  shall  see  what  came  of  that. 

On  the  morning  of  the  22nd  Varennes  was  in  a  most 
critical  position.  Bouille  was  hfistening  thither  with  his 
Grennan  regiments ;  his  advance-guard  appeared  among  the 
vines  of  Chepy  barely  half  an  hour  after  the  King  had  been 
prevailed  upon  to  return  to  Paris.  All  the  national  guards 
of  the  neighbourhood,  who  had  mustered  at  the  sound  of  the 
tocsin,  had  accompanied  the  royal  procession ;  no  one  was 
left  in  the  town  but  the  women  and  a  few  old  men.  Sauce 
had  left  his  family  and  had  started  off  to  walk  to  Paris  with 
the  prisoners,  but  hearing  at  Clermont  a  rumour  that  Varennes 
had  been  sacked  by  the  dragoons  of  the  Royal  German  Regiment , 
he  hastily  returned,  expecting  to  find  nothing  but  ruins. 
^  National  Archives,  dossier  already  quoted. 

245 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

It  was  a  false  alarm,  however,  for  Bouille  and  his  horsemen 
had  disappeared. 

On  the  very  next  day  the  accusations  began.  It  was 
thought  strange  that  the  procureur-syndic  should  have  thus 
"  confiscated  the  King  in  his  house  "  during  a  whole  night, 
and  many  people  were  persuaded  that  Louis  XVI  had  "  made 
the  fortune ""  of  his  host  on  the  understanding  that  the  latter 
should  help  him  to  escape,  but  that  Sauce,  having  secured 
the  money,  had  kept  the  royal  family  shut  up  until  the 
arrival  of  the  emissaries  from  Paris — a  two-edged  accusation 
which  outraged  the  feelings  of  patriots  and  royalists  alike. 
Others  held  him  responsible  for  the  reprisals  with  which 
Varennes  was  threatened,  and  for  the  expenses  and  trouble  of 
all  kinds  that  the  affair  had  involved.^ 

While  every  day  the  courier  was  bringing  congratulatory 
addresses  from  all  corners  of  France,  in  which  the  name  of 
Sauce  was  lauded  to  the  skies  and  extolled  with  those  of  the 
greatest  heroes  of  antiquity,  the  poor  grocer  was  being 
criticised,  discredited,  and  vilified  by  his  own  neighbours. 
One  day  he  came  straightforwardly  to  inform  the  municipality 
that  he  had  discovered,  on  examining  his  accounts,  that  the 
sum  of  fifty  livres  had  been  entered  twice  over.  He  handed 
over  the  amount  to  the  secretary  of  the  commune,  but  was 
at  once  accused  of  embezzlement,  and  meetings  were  held  to 
"  bring  him  to  judgment."  In  the  distribution  of  the  rewards 
decreed  by  the  Assembly  his  name  was  put  down  for  a  sum 
of  20,000  livres,  and  he  asked  to  be  given,  instead  of  this, 
"  two  places  for  his  eldest  sons  in  the  National  Guard."  He 
received  the  money,  however,  whereupon  there  was  such  an 
outcry  that  he  thought  it  his  duty  to  give  up  3,000  livres  to 
patriots  whose  zeal  had  not  been  officially  remunerated. 
Soon  afterwards  he  learnt  that  an  inquiry  had  been  set  on 
foot  to  investigate  "  the  events  of  which  Varennes  had  been 
the  theatre " ;  and  thinking,  or  being  persuaded,  that  the 
inquiry  was  directed  against  himself,  he  decided  on  a  fresh 
sacrifice.  He  gave  up  10,000  livres,  begging  that  "his 
sentiments  and  his  attachment  to  his  fellow  townsmen  might 
be  made  known,  and  his  statement  read  and  published,"  and 
1  Uivi'mmmi  de  Varennes,  by  Victor  Fournel. 

246 


PfiRE   SAUCE 

moreover,  he  placed  "  his  life,  the  lives  of  his  family,  and  all 
his  possessions  "  ^  under  the  protection  of  the  law. 

His  enemies  did  not  lay  down  their  arms.  His  office  as 
procureur-syTidic  was  taken  from  him,  and  he  was  reduced  to 
the  humble  post  of  registrar  to  the  court  of  the  Juge  de  Paix. 
His  accounts  were  examined,  and  on  some  mistakes  being  dis- 
covered in  them  the  department  was  asked  to  "  authorise  his 
prosecution,  in  order  to  enforce  the  restitution  of  sums  un- 
lawfully levied,  and  to  bring  against  him  an  accusation  of 
forging  receipts."  Being  forced  to  leave  Varennes,  he  migrated 
to  Saint-Mihiel,  where  he  obtained  the  post  of  registrar  to 
the  tribunal.  He  lodged  in  the  Place  des  Halles,  in  the  house 
which  is  now  No.  8,  and  has  a  well  midway  between  it  and  a 
house  in  the  Rue  Neuve.  Amid  this  unanimous  obloquy  one 
person  showed  him  affection  and  gratitude,  one  only — the  King. 
When  Sauce  was  tidying  his  house  after  the  disturbance  of 
the  21st  June  he  had  discovered  a  silver-gilt  necessaire  which 
the  fugitives  had  forgotten  and  left  behind  them.  He  lost 
no  time  in  sending  it  to  the  Intendant  General  of  the  Kings's 
Household,  begging  him  to  acknowledge  its  arrival.  In  the 
margin  of  the  answer  Louis  XVI  wrote  these  words  with  his 
own  hands  :  "  I  thank  M.  Sauce  and  his  family  very  warmly 
for  their  attentions  to  me  :  I  shall  be  grateful  to  them  all  my 
life.— Louis."  2 

The  contents  of  this  letter  were  noised  abroad,  and  cost 
Sauce  renewed  insults.  He  was  accused  of  having  tried  to 
save  the  King,  and  after  the  fall  of  the  monarchy  in 
August  1792,  he  was  openly  denounced  as  a  royalist,  which 
fact  did  not  prevent  the  royalists  from  holding  him  up  to  the 
vengear.ce  of  the  emigres  when  the  Prussians  invaded 
Ar^onne.  Upon  this  Sauce  lost  his  head :  he  fled,  and 
wandered  about  Champagne,  hiding  himself  under  a  false 
name,  till  finally  he  was  stranded  at  Troyes  without  resources. 
And,  indeed,  his  fears  were  not  chimerical.  He  had  left  his 
wife  and  second  son  at  Saint-Mihiel,  and  when  a  Prussian 
regiment  entered  the  town  at  five  ©''clock  on  the  morning  of 

1  Municipal  Register  of  Varennes.    See  also  an  article  in  the  Courrier  de 
O&rsas  of  Sept.  8th,  1792. 

2  Ancelon,  Fuite  et  arrestation  de  Louis  XVI. 

Ml 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

September  3rd,  to  the  great  triumph  of  the  partisans  of  the 
old  regime,  the  Mayor  of  Rouvrois,  a  peasant  called  Constant, 
led  the  Germans — whether  willingly  or  by  compulsion  is  not 
known — to  the  Place  des  Halles,  where  "  according  to  a  signal 
agreed  upon  he  pointed  out  Sauce's  house  by  tapping  with 
his  foot  in  a  particular  way.*"  The  house  was  at  once  invaded,^ 
and  Sauce's  second  son,  Jean  Baptiste,  at  that  time  fifteen 
years  old,  was  dragged  "  with  a  pistol  at  his  head  "  to  the 
town  hall.  Madame  Sauce,  in  a  panic,  tried  to  escape  to 
the  neighbouring  house,  and  climbed  over  the  wall  that 
surrounded  the  well  between  the  two  dwellings ;  but  falling 
into  the  well,  she  broke  her  legs,  and  was  drawn  out  in  a 
dying  state.  She  died  a  few  days  later.  "  What  a  shocking 
woman  !  "^  said  the  good  folk  of  the  town.  "  She  wanted 
to  escape  from  her  remorse  by  committing  suicide."  ^ 

^  Dumont,  Jliatoire  de  Saint-Mihiel. 

^  The  Petit  Temps  of  Sept.  27th,  1903,  published  a  very  curious  account 
of  this  exploit,  founded  on  the  recollections  of  General  Minutoli,  who  in 
1792  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  Prussian  army.  It  must  be  observed  that 
the  Prussians  thought  they  had  to  deal  with  Drouet,  not  with  Sauce. 
Perhaps  they  had  been  given  a  hint  to  that  effect,  the  better  to  excite 
their  zeal. 

"Although  it  was  hardly  yet  light,"  says  Minutoli,  "the  fact  of  our 
arrival  was  known  at  once.  On  every  side  we  heard  cries  of  '  Here  is 
the  enemy  ! '  One  after  another  the  windows  and  shutters  were  pushed 
ajar,  and  we  saw  more  than  one  fair  lady  in  her  morning  vAglig^.  We 
assured  the  inhabitants  repeatedly  that  we  wished  them  no  harm,  and 
would  respect  their  persons  and  property,  but  that  they,  for  their  part, 
must  keep  quiet.  And  so  at  last  they  calmed  down,  and  began  to 
exchange  remarks  from  window  to  window,  '  They  are  good  fellows  ;  they 
do  no  harm  to  anyone.'  Several  ladies  were  even  kind  enough  to  invite 
us  into  their  houses  to  have  a  cup  of  chocolate  or  coffee.  It  went  to  my 
heart  to  be  unable  to  accept,  but  it  would  have  been  a  bad  example  to  our 
men.  All  this  time  the  number  of  interested  passers-by  was  increasing  in 
the  streets  :  many  of  them  mingled  with  our  men  and  offered  them 
drinks.  .  .  . 

"Captain  de  Haas  and  Lieutenant  de  Welzieu,  who  had  been  com- 
missioned to  arrest  Drouet  [_Sauce']  in  his  house,  had  found  the  nest  empty, 
for  the  postmaster  had  left  for  Paris  the  very  day  before.  But  his  wife 
and  his  daughters  were  there.  While  Captain  de  Haas  was  having  the 
house  searched  by  his  men  Madame  Drouet  [^Sauce'],  yielding  to  an 
unaccountable  panic,  flung  herself  into  a  well.  The  captain,  who  was 
instantly  informed  of  this  accident,  ordered  a  long  ladder,  which 
fortunately  happened  to  be  near,  to  be  brought  to  the  spot,  and  told  an 
old  non-conunissioned  officer  of  hussars  to  take  a  lantern  and  go  down  into 
the  well  to  save  the  wretched  woman,  if  indeed  it  were  possible.  This 
bold  attempt  was  crowned  with  success.  Madame  Drouet  iSauLcel  had 
ordy  fainted.  A  doctor  was  quickly  summmied.  He  gave  her  every  care^ 
and  soon  brought  her  to  life." 


PfeRE   SAUCE 

When  the  invasion  was  repulsed,  Sauce  reappeared  at 
Saint-Mihiel,  gloomy,  disabled,  and  wretched.  There  is  still 
existing  a  portrait  of  him  of  this  date,  in  which  his  features 
at  the  age  of  thirty-eight  are  those  of  an  old  man.  His 
eldest  son,  who  was  in  the  1st  battalion  of  the  Meuse,  had 
just  been  made  second-lieutenant  after  four  months  of  service. 
Three  of  his  children  were  still  with  him,  and  on  the  15th 


HOUSE  IN  WHICH  SAUCE  DIED,   PLACE  DBS  HALLES,   SAINT-MIHIEL. 

March,  six  months  after  his  wife's  death,  he  was  married 
again  at  Saint-Mihiel  to  a  lady  called  Marie  Barbe  Jacquot,^ 
who  was  a  year  older  than  himself.  He  settled  down  with 
her  in  the  house  where  his  first  wife  had  died,  and  walked 
every  day,  with  his  -slow  step  and  bent  figure,  to  the 
registrar's  office  of  the  tribunal.  On  summer  evenings  he 
continued  his  walk  as  far  as  the  Allee  des  Capucins, 
without  going  near  anyone  or  speaking  a  word,  as  though 
he  were  resigned  to  being  a  pariah.  Those  who  saw  his 
long,  serious  face  without  knowing  who  he  was  said  to 
themselves,  "That  is  a  man  who  has  been  through  great 
sorrows.""  But  he  was  known  throughout  the  region  of 
the   Meuse — almost   famous   indeed,  with  an   evil   kind   of 

^  Parish  Registers,  Saint-Mihiel.  There  was  one  son  of  this  marriage, 
Victor  Scipion,  bom  June  15th,  1798.  He  was  a  judge  at  Saint-Mihiel, 
married  there,  and  died  in  1866.  He  had  had  a  son — a  lawyer — and  a 
daughter,  who  both  died  childless. 

249 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

fame  that  had  much  in  common  with  the  notoriety  that 
once  weighed  so  heavily  on  the  local  executioner  in  a 
provincial  town. 

His  eldest  son  did  not  appear  again  for  twelve  years.  He 
returned  in  1804  as  a  captain ;  in  1812  one  hears  of  him  as  a 
major  at  the  headquarters  of  the  Grande  Arinee^  and  in 
1816  he  returned  to  Saint-Mihiel  on  half-pay  and  made  his 
home  with  his  father,  who  was  still  alive,  no  less  gloomy 
and  no  less  uncomplaining  than  twenty  years  before.  The 
youngest  son  had  enlisted  in  the  police  force,  and  the 
daughter  had  married.  The  reprobation  by  which  the 
father  was  so  greatly  oppressed  does  not  seem  to  have  been 
extended  to  the  children,  but  for  Sauce  pardon  and  forgetful- 
ness  never  came.  In  1820  there  was  at  Saint-Mihiel  an  old 
emigre  who  had  returned  from  Swabia  after  twenty-five  years 
of  misery,  and  the  idea  occurred  to  him  to  chase  from  the 
town  the  man  who,  as  he  imagined,  "  was  the  original  cause 
of  all  our  sorrows."  Th^»e  were  those,  it  is  said,  who  ap- 
proved of  the  scheme,  ana  it  is  possible  perhaps  that  it 
appealed  to  the  officials  of  the  day  as  a  means  of  showing 
their  zeal.  But  the  placid  resignation  of  Pere  Sauce  dis- 
armed them.  Ever  afterwards,  however,  when  he  saw  "  those 
gentlemen"  walking  under  the  lime  trees  of  the  AUee  des 
Capucins,  he  beat  a  retreat  in  the  fear  of  being  insulted,  and 
went  off  sadly  to  sit  on  the  banks  of  the  Meuse. 

He  died^  in  his  house  in  the  Place  des  Halles  on  the 
24th  October,  1825.2 

^  Parish  Registers,  Saint-Mihiel.  "  1825,  Oct.  24,  at  one  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon,  in  his  house  in  the  Place  des  Halles,  died  Jean  Baptiste 
Sauce,  formerly  registrar  of  the  criminal  Court  of  Justice  of  this 
department,  born  at  Varennes  March  4,  1755,  widower  of  Dame  Marie 
Jeanne  Foumel,  and  husband  of  Dame  Marie  Barbe  Jacquot." 

2  Sauce's  house  in  the  Place  des  Halles  is  now  No.  8  (432  in  the  official 
register).  The  well  into  which  Madame  Sauce  fell  is  still  to  be  seen, 
between  it  and  the  house  (426  in  the  register)  that  faces  the  Rue  Neuve. 


250 


CHAPTER  XI 

GENERAL   RADET^ 

The  civil  burial  of  Pope  Pius  VI.,  who  died  at  Valence  as 
a  prisoner  of  the  Directory  on  the  12th  Fructidor,  year  VII, 
will  one  day  be  numbered  among  the  most  surprising  freaks 
of  history.  France  as  a  whole,  however,  concerned  itself  very 
little  about  the  matter,  which  was  so  much  in  character  with 
the  levelling  spirit  of  the  times  that  there  seemed  to  be 
nothing  incongruous  in  it ;  and  it  is  quite  certain  that  there 
was  no  affectation  of  cynicism  nor  any  sarcastic  intention  in 
the  behaviour  of  Citizen  Jean  Louis  Chauveau,  municipal 
officer  of  the  commune  of  Valence,  when  he  certified  the 
death  of  the  said  Jean  Ange  iJraschi,  Pontiff'  by  profession, 
according  to  the  formula  commonly  used  for  every  ordinary 
citizen.     When  the  public  think  they  can  detect  an  element 

1  Here  we  have  but  one  source  of  information :  a  volume  of  750  pages 
entitled  Mimoires  du  04niral  Radet,  d'aprds  aea  papier8  personela  et  lea 
archives  de  VEtat^  par  A.  Comhier. 

The  author,  a  retired  magistrate  who  died  several  years  ago,  was  the 
grand-nephew  and  heir  of  the  general.  He  had  devoted  long  years  of  his 
life  to  studying  the  life  of  Radet,  both  in  the  papers  that  had  been 
bequeathed  to  him  and  in  the  Archives  of  the  War  Office  and  Foreign 
Office.  A  more  complete  and  conscientious  monograph  does  not  exist. 
The  book  was  printed  in  1892,  but  we  believe  that  only  a  very  small 
number  of  copies  was  produced ;  indeed,  we  doubt  if  it  were  ever  offered 
for  sale.  It  was  printed  by  Belin  Fr^res  at  Saint-Cloud,  but  there  is  no 
publisher's  name  upon  it.  M.  Combier  in  his  preface  makes  it  plain  that 
his  ambition  was  not  great ;  he  only  aspired  to  place  thia  work  upon  the 
dark  shelf  in  some  of  our  public  libraries,  and  there  to  let  it  sleep. 

This  is  the  valuable  volume  that  we  have  consulted  in  writing  this 
chapter.  We  only  obtained  a  few  insignificant  hints  by  consulting  Radet's 
dossier  in  the  Archives  of  the  War  Office,  and  the  dossier  of  Radet's  trial 
in  Jan.  1794,  which  is  preserved  among  the  records  of  the  tribunal  of 
Saint-MihieL 

251 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

of  logic  in  the  sequence  of  political  events,  they  submit  with- 
out complaining,  being  indignant  only  when  they  are  taken 
by  surprise.  No  doubt  this  is  why  the  very  people  who  were 
so  indifferent  to  the  misfortunes  of  Pius  VII,  when  he  was 
treated  by  the  Revolution  like  a  common  "suspect,""  were 
filled  with  sincere  pity  ten  years  later,  when  Napoleon  caused 
Pope  Pius  VII,  who  had  crowned  him,  to  be  removed  from 
Rome.  It  seemed  incomprehensible  that,  having  so  authorita- 
tively set  up  the  ancient  order  of  society  once  more,  he  should 
kill  it  with  one  blow ;  and  as  the  public  did  not  dare  to  vent 
their  indignation  on  the  master,  they  relieved  themselves  by 
anathematising  the  general  who  had  carried  out  the  task  at 
his  behest. 

Against  General  Radet,  then — for  this  was  the  officer's 
name — there  rose  a  sudden  storm  of  condemnation.  This 
name,  which  had  never  figured  in  the  despatches  of  any  great 
victory,  became  an  object  of  execration,  almost  of  horror — 
the  name  of  a  pariah.  Pious  women  breathed  it  to  each 
other  in  awe-struck  voices,  crossing  themselves  as  they  spoke : 
"  Radet,  you  know,  the  man  who  carried  off  the  Pope ! " 

A  precipitate  judgment  of  this  kind,  founded  on  a  combina- 
tion of  ignorance  and  political  passion,  it  is  impossible  to 
overthrow.  A  myth  is  invulnerable  when  it  is,  by  unanimous 
consent,  promoted  to  the  dignity  of  a  truth ;  and  this  Radet, 
who  was  condemned  to  be  unceremoniously  labelled  by  history 
as  the  man  who  carried  off  the  Pope,  will  always  be  regarded 
as  one  of  those  incorrigible  Jacobins  who  still  survived  to  re- 
call the  exactions  of  the  year  II,  a  brutal  and  coarsely 
irreligious  veteran,  a  belated  sans-cuhtte  lingering  on  in  the 
Imperial  army,  unpolished,  swaggering,  vulgar,  and  un- 
educated. 

Never  was  fancy  farther  from  the  facts.  This  Jacobin  was 
a  fervent  royalist;  this  impious  wretch  had  a  gentle  soul, 
profoundly  Catholic  and  somewhat  mystical;  and,  by  an 
aggravation  of  irony,  this  soldier,  this  slave  of  passive 
obedience,  was  only  a  soldier  by  accident. 

For  indeed  the  ordering  of  his  life  from  first  to  last  was  a 
jest  of  fate.  Other  men  went  in  search  of  adventures ;  Radet 
tried  to  avoid  them — but  the  adventures  came  in  search  of 

252 


GENERAL  RADET 

him !  In  1791  he  was  a  rich  and  respected  bourgeois  of  the 
little  town  of  Varennes-en-Argonne.  Although  this  town 
was  in  appearance  and  proportions  hardly  more  than  a  village, 
it  was  in  a  certain  sense  a  capital,  being  the  seat  of  the 
Clermontois  Tribunal,  and  the  dwelling-place  of  a  bishop,  as 
well  as  of  a  number  of  magistrates,  notaries,  solicitors, 
attorneys,  retired  officers.  Directors  of  Woods  and  Forests, 
and  intendants,  who  formed  a  society  of  some  cultivation  and 
more  or  less  fashion,  such  as  was  often  met  with  in  the 
smallest  towns  of  the  France  of  other  days.  Etienne  Radet, 
the  son  of  an  intendant  of  the  Prince  de  Conde,  was  bom 
quite  near  here  at  Stenay,  and  being  attracted  by  the  charms 
of  its  society,  had  settled  at  Varennes.  In  November  1789, 
when  he  was  twenty-seven  years  old,  he  had  married  a  girl 
from  Avocourt  called  Marie  Rose  George,  who  was  comfort- 
ably endowed  with  money  and  real  property ;  whereupon  he 
bought  a  large  and  fine  estate  at  the  entrance  to  Varennes  on 
the  Clermont  side,  known  as  the  House  on  the  Hill.  The 
house  was  a  kind  of  chateau,  with  three  salons  panelled  all 
round,  high  doors,  armchairs  of  lacquer  covered  with  tapestry, 
glass  chandeliers,  a  terrace,  a  shrubbery,  a  sloping  garden 
with  a  river  at  the  bottom  of  it — all  the  pleasures  of  life,  in 
short.  Radet  settled  down  there  as  a  country  gentleman, 
quite  determined  to  live  quietly,  and,  being  a  man  of  no 
ambition,  to  spend  the  rest  of  his  days  there  in  peace.  As 
he  was  a  cultured  and  well-read  man,  and  an  agreeable 
conversationalist,  the  Varennois  had  received  the  new-comer 
warmly.  Knowing  that  he  had  made  a  voyage  to  the  West 
Indies  and  had  served  in  a  regiment  of  infantry — a  youthful 
vagary  in  which  he  indulged  when  his  father  married  for  the 
second  time — they  appointed  him  lieutenant  of  the  Clermontois 
constabulary,  a  sort  of  local  militia.  In  addition  to  this  he 
was  warden  general  of  the  forests  of  the  province,  and 
finally  was  elected  commandant  of  the  artillery  of  Varennes, 
which  possessed  two  ancient  and  useless  culverins  without  gun 
carriages.  These  posts,  which  were  more  or  less  sinecures, 
brought  him  no  money,  but  secured  him  a  great  deal  of 
respect  and  one  or  two  little  privileges.  It  was  by  the  help 
of  pastimes  of  this  kind  that  the  dwellers  in  towns  found  it 

^53 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

possible  in  those  old  days  to  endure  provincial  life,  in  spite  of 
its  quietness,  its  utter  absence  of  variety  and  movement,  its 
resigned  and  sleepy  apathy. 

Radet,  then,  at  the  age  of  thirty,  was  one  of  the  bourgeois 
to  whom  it  was  impossible  that  anything  should  happen, 
when  on  a  certain  night  of  June  in  the  year  1791  he  was 
suddenly  awakened  out  of  his  sleep  by  the  sound  of  violent 
blows  upon  his  door.  It  was  half  past  twelve.  While  he 
was  on  his  way  to  open  the  door  he  heard  the  sound  of  the 
tocsin  ringing  at  St.  Gengoult's  and  the  roll  of  a  drum  that 
was  beating  to  arms  in  the  lower  town.  There  was  a  fire,  no 
doubt. 

At  the  door  he  found  Raillet,  lieutenant  of  artillery,  who 
informed  him  of  the  overwhelming  news :  "  The  King,  the 
Queen,  and  the  Dauphin  are  at  Varennes !  The  artillery 
must  be  called  out  quickly  to  protect  the  royal  family  against 
a  possible  attempt  to  carry  them  ofF." 

Radet  collected  his  men,  who  had  come  out  of  the  town 
hall  with  the  two  guns.  The  latter  were  at  first  mounted  at 
the  upper  end  of  the  town,  but  afterwards,  by  order  of  the 
municipality,  they  were  placed  before  Sauce's  house  at  about 
one  o''clock  in  the  morning.  At  this  moment  Choiseurs 
hussars  and  Damas's  dragoons,  about  sixty  men  altogether, 
came  into  the  town,  which  was  already  overflowing,  as  has 
been  described,  with  the  peasants  who  were  attracted 
from  all  parts  of  the  neighbourhood  by  the  sound  of  the 
tocsin.  This  enormous  throng  crowded  into  the  narrow 
street  in  front  of  the  grocer'^s  shop  where  the  royal  family 
were  confined.  Radet  understood  that  a  delay  of  an  hour 
would  be  the  King's  undoing.  He  was  heard  to  give  an  order 
to  the  people  of  Montblainville,  who  were  guarding  the 
bridge  over  the  Aire,  "  to  allow  the  King  to  pass,  since  he 
wished  to  go  to  Montmedy " ;  but  the  peasants  sneeringly 
refused;  whereupon  Radet  insisted,  saying  in  conciliatory 
tones,  "  Let  us  allow  the  King  to  pass  ;  it  will  be  all  the  better 
for  Varennes.*"  Upon  this  the  peasants  grew  obstreperous  ; 
one  of  them  brought  his  bayonet  to  the  charge,  and  another 
flourished  his  pitchfork.  The  excitement  was  great,  and 
Radet  retired  towards  the  Maison  Sauce. 


GENERAL  RADET 

The  yard  behind  the  shop  opens  on  the  lane  of  La  Verade, 
a  narrow  alley  that  runs  between  garden  walls  and  leads  to 
the  fields.  The  forest  of  Argonne  is  quite  close  to  it.  Radet 
thought  that  six  resolute  men,  while  the  crowd  was  swarming 
and  screaming  in  the  streets,  might  help  the  King  to  escape 
by  this  lane,  take  him  to  the  woods,  and  finally  conduct  him 
safely  to  Bouille's  camp.  He  suggested  this  scheme  to  M.  de 
Damas,  who  was  standing  at  the  door  of  the  shop  and  forth- 
with took  Radet  into  the  house,  where  the  municipal  officers, 
all  the  judges  of  the  tribunal,  all  the  authorities  of  the  dis- 
trict, and  many  others  had  established  themselves.  It  was 
Choiseul  to  whom  Damas  submitted  Radet's  proposal. 
Choiseul  leant  out  of  the  window  above  the  lane  to  examine 
the  spot,  and  spoke  of  the  plan  to  the  King,  who  refused  to 
listen,  being  persuaded  that  the  whole  affair  arose  from  a 
misunderstanding,  and  that  he  would  be  allowed  to  continue 
his  journey  in  perfect  liberty.  The  atmosphere  of  the  room 
was  stifling.  Radet  left  it  at  about  two  o'*clock,  and  at- 
tempted at  all  hazards  to  get  the  horses  harnessed  to  the 
berline  ;  then  returned  to  the  bridge,  which  was  still  guarded, 
and  tried  to  rally  the  hussars,  whom  the  peasants  were  plying 
with  drink,  and  who  were  now  crying  "  To  Paris  ! "  with  the 
others. 

The  hours  passed :  the  crowd  increased  continuously  ;  ten 
thousand  people  were  blocking  up  the  streets;  all  hope  of 
saving  the  King  was  gone.  In  the  morning,  when  the  emis- 
saries of  the  Assembly  appeared,  bringing  with  them  the 
decree  that  recalled  Louis  XVI  to  Paris,  Radet  again  tried 
to  gain  time.  The  King,  being  informed  of  the  devotion  of 
this  one  man  in  all  Varennes,  begged  him  to  take  charge  of 
a  casket  containing  articles  of  value,  which  he  did  not  wish  to 
expose  to  the  chances  of  the  return  journey,  and  instructed 
him  to  send  it  to  the  princes  who  had  emigrated.  Radet 
accepted  the  charge  respectfully.  This  episode  is  obscure, 
for  although  there  is  no  doubt  as  to  the  bare  fact,  the  details 
are  confusing.^ 

*  There  is  no  doubt  that  Radet  sent  a  valuable  box  to  Monsieur  (after- 
wards Louis  XVIII)— but  what  box,  and  when  was  it  sent  ?  Was  this  the 
box  referred  to  by  Cldry  in  his  Memoirs  and  by  Madame  Royale  in  ber 

25d 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

Radet  fulfilled  this  mission ;  but  ever  after  this  famous 
night  he  had  many  enemies,  for  the  royalists  of  Varennes 
owed  him  a  grudge  for  their  inaction,  while  the  patriots 
regarded  him  as  being  "  sold  to  the  Court."  The  whole 
population  meanwhile  was  in  a  state  of  alarm,  for  there  was  a 
persistent  rumour  that  Bouille  had  sworn  to  sack  the  guilty 
town,  and  even  the  names  of  those  who  were  to  be  hanged 
were  given.  By  the  spring  of  1792  many  of  the  inhabitants, 
including  Sauce  himself  and  all  his  family,  had  fled.  The 
Prussians  and  the  emigres  were,  at  Thionville,  and  spoke  of 
marching  on  Paris  and  "making  an  example  of  Varennes" 
on  their  way,  a  threat  which  gave  promise  of  fearful  reprisals. 
Those  who  could  not  leave  the  country  clamoured  loudly  for 
help.  Radet  was  appointed  commandant  of  the  National 
Guard,  partly  because  he  was  brave,  but  chiefly  because  he 
alone  had  dared  to  take  the  King's  side  at  the  time  of 
the  arrest,  and  it  was  hoped  that  this  fact  might  serve  to 
cajole  the  enemy.  In  March,  as  the  general  alarm  was  in- 
creasing, he  was  elected  major  for  the  sub-district :  when  the 
danger  was  imminent  he  became  adjutant-general  for  the 
entire  district. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  Varennes  was  in  great  danger,  and  it 
required  much  courage  to  undertake  to  protect  it.  Verdun 
had  capitulated.  On  the  5th  September  Radet,  having  gone 
to  Avocourt,  saw  the  Prussian  scouts  in  the  distance  on  the 
Esnes  road.  He  ^hastily  returned  to  the  town,  stopped  the 
threshing  operations,  shut  up  all  the  barns,  and  took  his  wife 
into  the  woods  with  his  two  boys  and  a  considerable  number 
of  distracted  Varennois  ;  after  which  he  returned  to  await  the 
enemy,  who  arrived  on  the  following  day,  and  were  after  all 
fairly  moderate  in  their  demands.  The  Prussians  were  fol- 
lowed by  a  corps  of  Austrian  cavalry.  Radet  in  his  own 
person  represented  all  the  authorities  of  the  town.  While 
he  was  supplying  the  requirements  of  the  invaders  he  took 

Narrative  ?  The  casket  to  which  they  allude  contained  the  King's  seal,  a 
ring  of  the  Queen's,  and  the  hair  of  the  whole  family.  It  was  taken  to 
Hanover,  to  Monsieur,  in  1793. 

The  general  makes  it  plain  in  his  manuscript  notes  that  it  was  in  1791, 
from  Varennes  itself,  that  he  sent  to  Monsieur  the  box  given  to  him  by 
Louis  XVI. — See  M^moires  du  G4n4ral  Eadet,  p.  35  and  note  21. 

256 


fiTIENNE    RADET. 

From  a  Miniature  in  M.  Bernard  Franck's  Collection. 


% 


GENERAL  RADET 

advantage  of  his  relations  with  them  to  move  freely  about 
their  camp,  to  penetrate  even  into  Verdun,  and  to  establish 
a  correspondence  with  the  French  generals  quartered  at  Mare, 
near  Grandpre,  and  on  the  hill  of  Biesme.  His  life  at  that 
time  was  as  full  of  adventures  as  a  novel :  he  was  to  be  seen 
on  the  road  disguised  sometimes  as  a  merchant,  sometimes  as  a 
peasant ;  on  other  occasions  he  played  the  part  of  an  emigre. 
He  explored  in  all  directions  with  the  enterprise  of  a  bush- 
ranger, looking  into  everything,  working  even  with  the 
Prussian  staff — in  danger  every  moment  of  being  discovered 
and  shot — and  training  climbiiig  agents,  whom  he  hid  in  the 
foliage  of  the  trees,  as  the  sentinels  of  old  Gaul  were  hidden, 
to  watch  the  movements  of  the  enemy.  He  even  succeeded 
in  recruiting  a  flying  battalion  of  women,  who  carried  the 
information  he  had  collected  to  the  French  camp.  All  the 
peasants  of  the  country,  too,  kept  open  house  in  their  desire 
to  help  these  patriotic  missionaries,  whose  co-operation  re- 
sulted in  the  victory  of  Valmy ;  and  all  through  that  day  of 
Valmy,  while  the  battle  lasted,  Radet  stood  by  Kellermann's 
side,  for  General  Dillon  had  chosen  him  for  his  aide-de-camp 
as  a  reward  for  services  rendered  to  the  French  army. 

When  Verdun  was  retaken  and  the  foreigners  repulsed, 
Radet  refused  both  promotion  and  pay.  He  had  but  one 
wish :  to  return  to  his  home,  find  with  his  wife  and  children 
to  take  up  again  the  peaceful  life  for  which  he  believed  him- 
self to  be  most  fitted.  But  very  soon  he  was  obliged  to  own 
to  himself  that  Varennes  had  lost  all  its  charm.  The  new 
organisation  had  deprived  the  little  community  of  its  legal 
members :  society  had  emigi'ated,  and  the  municipality  was 
in  the  hands  of  a  few  fanatics,  who,  fancying  themselves 
under  the  eyes  of  all  Europe,  posed  as  Spartans  and  purged 
the  population.  Radet  was  displeasing  to  them,  and 
especially  to  a  certain  brewer  called  Fereaux,  who  owed  him 
1,700  francs.  Fereaux  fulminated  against  the  general  in  the 
public-houses.  "  He  is  only  fit  for  the  guillotine,""  he  said  ; 
"  he  is  a  traitor,  a  spy,  a  scoundrel,  a  thief,  a  sham  patriot, 
worse  than  an  emigre.'"  He  accused  him  of  having  on  the 
21st  June  1791  "bribed  the  National  Guard  of  Montblainville 
to  assist  in  the  flight  of  Capet,"  but  this  had  little  effect. 

257  s 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

Then  Fereaux  revealed  the  fact  that  "this  turncoat  had 
handed  over  to  the  enemy  a  herd  of  cattle  in  a  field,""  and 
this  time  Radet  was  arrested.  A  month  later — in  January 
1794 — he  appeared  before  the  Revolutionary  Tribunal  of 
Saint-Mihiel,  where  in  the  person  of  the  registrar  he  recognised 
Pere  Sauce,  who  had  taken  refuge  there  at  the  time  of  the 
invasion.  It  was  an  unpropitious  moment,  for  the  Terror  was 
at  its  height ;  and  while  Radet  was  being  tried  in  a  room  of 
the  old  Benedictine  Abbey,  he  saw  the  people  outside  crowd- 
ing round  the  guillotine,  to  watch  the  knife  being  fixed  in  its 
place. 

He  escaped,  however,  but  though  he  was  acquitted,  he 
thought  it  safer  not  to  tempt  fate  by  returning  to  Varennes. 
But  where  should  he  go  ?  The  various  camps  were  at  that 
time  sure  asylums  for  those  who  took  shelter  in  them  without 
aspiring  to  rise  to  the  highest  ranks ;  and  Radet  therefore 
joined  the  the  army  of  Guise,  with  the  intention  of 
remaining  with  it  for  a  few  weeks — during  one  campaign 
perhaps,  till  the  bad  times  came  to  an  end,  as  must  surely 
happen  soon. 

"He  who  goes  off  for  a  year  thinks  that  he  goes  for  a 
day,*"  says  the  legend  of  the  beau  Pecopin,  who  left  Bauldour, 
his  betrothed,  to  follow  a  mysterious  cavalier  to  the  court  of 
the  reigning  Count  of  Anhalt-Kirbourg.  The  latter,  delighted 
with  the  beautiful  appearance  of  Pecopin,  sent  him  as  a  deputa- 
tion to  the  Elector  of  Bavaria,  who  charged  him  with  a  mission 
to  the  Duke  of  Lithuania,  who  hurried  him  off  to  the  King  of 
France,  who  despatched  him  to  the  Grand  Turk,  who  finally 
sent  him  to  the  devil.  When  Pecopin  returned  from  this  last 
journey  a  century  had  gone  by  without  his  being  aware  of  it, 
and  the  toothless  Bauldour  loved  him  still.  Here  we  have 
the  whole  history  of  Radet.  Gillet,  the  representative  of  the 
people,  appointed  him  brigadier-general  to  the  Army  of  the 
North,  whence  he  despatched  him  as  chief  of  constabulary  to 
Avignon,  where  Bonaparte,  on  returning  from  Egypt,  was  so 
much  struck  with  his  behaviour  that  he  sent  him  to  Corsica, 
whence  he  recalled  him  to  Milan  to  approach  Prince  Eugene, 
who  despatched  him  to  Prince  Joseph,  who  first  entrusted  him 
with  the  arrest  of  Fra  Diavolo,  and  then  sent  him  to  his  sister 

258 


GENERAL  RADET 

in  Tuscany.  Here,  in  June,  1809,  he  received  an  order  from 
the  Imperial  headquarters  at  Vienna  to  repair  to  Rome  by 
forced  marches,  with  four  hundred  mounted  men  of  the  con- 
stabulary. At  Rome  a  teri'ible  task  awaited  him.  On  arriving 
there  on  the  4th  July  he  learnt  from  General  Miollis,  the 
governor  of  the  town,  that  his  orders  were  to  seize  the 
person  of  the  Pope,  who  was  guilty  of  having  uncere- 
moniously excommunicated  the  Emperor.  Cardinal  Pacca, 
the  adviser  of  the  Holy  Father,  was  to  be  arrested  at  the 
same  time. 

This  time  Radet,  as  he  admits  himself,  was  taken  aback. 
He  returned  to  the  Rospigliosi  Palace,  where  he  was  living, 
and  "  shut  himself  up  to  think.""  Never  had  he  so  keenly 
regretted  Varennes,  and  the  House  on  the  Hill,  and  his  blos- 
soming orchard,  and  the  quiet  fields  beside  the  Aire.  He  was 
"  oppressed  by  painful  feelings,  mingled  with  fear,"  for  he 
had  always  been  a  religious  and  even  a  devout  man,  if  one 
may  judge  by  a  prayer  that  he  composed,  and  he  was  obliged 
to  face  the  cruel  alternative  "  of  either  outraging  the  most 
sacred  rights,  or  of  violating  his  vows  by  disobedience."  The 
result  of  his  meditations  was  that  he  returned  to  Miollis. 
The  latter,  who  was  extremely  anxious  to  transfer  the  re- 
sponsibility of  this  compromising  performance  to  someone 
else  as  soon  as  possible,  pointed  out  to  him  "  that  a  soldier 
was  above  all  things  obedient,  passive,  and  responsible " ; 
upon  which  Radet,  having  nothing  to  answer,  turned  upon 
his  heel  and  retired  to  plan  his  method  of  attack.  Pius  VII 
was  living  at  this  time  in  confinement  in  the  Quirinal,  with  no 
troops  but  a  few  Swiss  Guards.  He  was  an  old  man  in  weak 
health,  broken  down,  and  always  ailing. 

On  that  very  evening  Radet  made  his  arrangements.  As 
soon  as  night  fell  detachments  of  constabulary  and  foot- 
soldiers  were  seen  going  through  the  streets  of  Rome  with 
the  heavy  step  and  sinister  appearance  of  troops  marching 
without  drums  or  music.  The  streets  leading  to  the 
Quirinal  and  the  bridges  across  the  Tiber  were  silently 
occupied.  The  hermetically  sealed  and  barricaded  palace 
was  asleep,  or  seemed  to  be  so.  At  thirty-five  minutes 
past  two  in  the  morning  of  the  7th  July  Radet  gave  the 

^9  s  2 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

order  of  attack.  While  a  detachment  of  thirty  men 
escaladed  the  walls  of  the  garden  with  the  object  of 
reaching  the  subterranean  passage  from  the  Sainte  Chapelle, 
Colonel  Siry,  followed  by  fifty  men,  entered  the  building 
through  the  window  of  one  of  the  offices.  As  for  Radet, 
his  intention  was  to  invade  the  palace  from  the  roof,  but 
two  ladders  broke  in  succession,  which  created  some  con- 
fusion. As  the  clock  was  striking  three  a  bell  in  the  Sainte 
Chapelle  began  to  ring  the  alarm,  and  instantly  voices  were 
heard  to  cry  ^'  AlVarme !  Traditorif''  It  was  necessary  to 
break  open  the  door,  and  this  was  beginning  to  give  way 
when  Siry,  who  was  now  inside  the  building,  opened  it  from 
within,  and  the  soldiers  entered  the  courtyard. 

Radet,  followed  by  twenty  men,  ascended  the  staircase, 
and  by  the  faint  light  of  the  early  dawn  passed  through 
one  deserted  room  after  another  till  he  reached  the  vestibule 
of  the  throne-room,  where  the  forty  Swiss  Guards  who  com- 
posed the  entire  papal  army  were  gathered  together.  These 
yielded  up  their  arms  at  the  first  summons,  and  as  a  few 
soldiers  were  all  that  were  needed  to  keep  guard  over  them, 
Radet  pursued  his  way.  He  pushed  open  the  door  of  the 
huge  throne-room,  which  was  nearly  dark  and  quite  deserted. 
At  the  farther  end  of  it,  without  a  guard,  was  the  closed 
door  of  the  Holy  Father's  rooms.  Radet,  half  choking  with 
emotion  and  not  daring  to  open  the  door,  knocked.  No 
answer.  He  knocked  again ;  not  a  sound  :  then,  steadying 
his  voice,  he  asked  in  the  name  "  of  the  Emperor  his  master  " 
to  be  allowed  to  enter.  As  the  silence  was  still  unbroken, 
he  stood  there  in  a  state  of  great  agitation,  wondering  what 
he  should  do,  when  he  became  aware  of  the  sound  of  a  key 
being  placed  in  the  lock  from  within.  The  door  then  slowly 
opened  a  little  way,  and  a  tall  young  priest  appeared.  Radet 
asked  his  name  :  "  Pacca."  "  His  Eminence  ?  '"*  "  No,  sono 
il  nepote — no,  his  nephew."  "Where  is  the  Cardinal?" 
With  a  bow,  the  young  priest  silently  stood  aside,  and 
Radet,  taking  a  step  forward,  saw  at  the  end  of  a  little 
corridor  of  moderate  width  a  room  "in  which  there  were 
lights  and  some  people  standing."  He  bared  his  head 
instinctively,  and  approaching  the  threshold  saw  the  Holy 

260 


GENERAL   RADET 

Father  in  his  pontifical  robes  seated  at  his  bureau,  sur- 
rounded by  a  few  venerable  ecclesiastics. 

The  general  paused,  in  great  distress.  His  men  had 
followed  him,  and  now  in  his  perplexity  he  dismissed  them  by 
way  of  doing  something  to  cover  his  confusion,  keeping  with 
him  only  the  officers  and  non-commissioned  officers,  all  of 
whom  silently  entered  the  papal  chamber,  hat  in  hand.  This 
"  manoeuvre ""  occupied  five  minutes  and  gave  Radet  time  to 
collect  his  faculties.  He  went  fonvard  then  at  last,  bowing 
profoundly,  with  his  hand  upon  his  heart,  saying  "  how  it 
grieved  him  to  the  heart  to  fulfil  a  mission  of  so  painfully 
severe  a  nature.  .  .  ."*"'  The  Pope  interrupted  him  :  "  Why 
do  you  come  at  this  hour  to  disturb  my  rest  ?  What  do  you 
want  ?  "  Radet  announced  his  sovereign's  will,  to  which  Pius 
VII  answered,  "  Nevertheless  I  forgive  him — and  everyone  ! 
You  will  surely  allow  me  two  hours  ?  *"  The  general  was 
obliged  to  answer  "  that  the  power  to  do  so  was  not  in  his 
insti-uctions,'"'  and  the  Holy  Father,  resigning  himself,  took  up 
a  book  that  lay  on  his  bureau,  and  rose.  Radet  went  forward 
to  support  him,  and  "  was  so  much  moved,  so  strongly  affected 
by  a  feeling  of  veneration,*"  that  he  could  not  resist  taking 
his  h£ind  and  kissing  it  devoutly. 

They  then  started  on  their  way  through  the  rooms  of  the 
palace,  Radet  holding  Pius  VII  by  the  arm,  and  Cardinal 
Pacca  following,  escorted  by  an  officer — down  the  grand 
staircase,  across  the  court,  to  the  Monte  Cavallo  gate.  Here 
the  Pope  paused  for  a  moment  and  looked  out  upon  Rome. 
It  was  four  o'clock  in  the  morning ;  a  radiant  day  was  just 
beginning  ;  in  the  square  there  was  not  a  single  passer-by  ;  in 
the  windows  there  was  not  a  single  face  to  be  seen  ;  only, 
drawn  up  in  order  of  battle,  stood  the  rows  of  troops,  abso- 
lutely silent,  absolutely  motionless,  blockading  the  Quirinal. 
Pius  VII  raised  his  hand,  and  gave  them  his  benediction. 

A  moment  later  he  was  borne  away  in  Radefs  berline 
surrounded  by  a  body  of  constabulary,  on  the  road  to 
Florence. 

When  a  man  has  figured  in  two  dramas  of  so  much 
importance  as  the  flight  of  Louis  XVI  and  the  removal  of 

261 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

the  Pope  from  Rome,  he  may  surely  feel  satisfied  and  have  no 
further  ambition.  The  impresario  who  arranged  for  Radet's 
performances,  however,  had  still  several  sensational  parts  for 
him  to  play.  He  was  created  a  baron,  and  was  further 
gratified  by  the  grant  of  an  entailed  estate  situated  in 
Hanover,  of  which  he  never  heard  again ;  he  received  a  coat 
of  arms  representing  a  lion  holding  a  sword  and  looking  at  a 
star,  and  also  the  right  of  putting  his  servants  into  "  a 
livery  of  blue,  red,  and  yellow "  ;  but  this  did  not  save  him 
from  being  sent  hither  and  thither,  from  north  to  south  and 
from  east  to  west,  without  being  allowed  the  time  to  breathe. 
From  Rome  he  went  to  Hamburg  without  a  pause ;  then,  at 
a  word  from  the  Emperor,  from  Hamburg  to  Amsterdam. 
He  ,was  just  beginning  to  enjoy  himself  there  when  he  had 
to  start  off  to  Mayence,  whence  he  was  despatched  to 
Saxony;  then  to  Lutzen,  Leipsic,  and  Mayence  again. 
Finally,  in  1814,  as  in  1792,  he  suddenly  found  himself 
defending  the  slopes  of  Biesme  and  the  forest  of  Argonne 
against  an  invading  enemy. 

After  this  came  a  time  of  half-pay  and  disgrace  ;  then  he 
was  deprived  of  his  rank  and  dismissed  from  the  army.  He 
had  served  the  Empire  only  half-heartedly,  and  yet  the 
sudden  inactivity  seemed  oppressive  to  him  when  he  was 
obliged  to  return,  almost  as  an  outcast,  to  the  quiet  little 
town  that  he  had  left  twenty  years  before.  His  two  boys  had 
died  young,  but  his  wife  was  waiting  for  him  there,  sur- 
rounded by  seven  orphaned  nephews  and  nieces  whom  she  had 
taken  into  her  house,  and  two  old  servants,  Colin  and 
Marguerite,  who  had  never  left  the  place  since  1789,  and  had 
managed  the  property.  The  general  quickly  recovered  his 
taste  for  a  rural  life :  fishing,  hunting,  and  agricultural 
experiments  occupied  his  days,  and  in  the  evening  he  visited 
his  neighbours,  for  Varennes  had  regained  a  certain  amount 
of  its  former  attractions.  A  literary  society  was  formed, 
which  met  three  times  a  week  at  the  house  of  the  Mayor, 
and  of  this  Radet  was  a  member.  In  the  winter  there  were 
two  balls  and  some  dinner  parties  ;  and,  moreover,  the  people 
of  Varennes  did  not  forget  to  celebrate  the  memory  of  Louis 
XVI  in  a  grand  funeral  service  in  the  church,  when  all  the 

86a 


GENERAL  RADET 

inhabitants  of  the  town  were  observed  to  be  greatly  moved 
by  the  absolution — and  more  especially  those  who  through 
the  night  of  June  21st,  1791,  had  been  most  valiant  in 
crying  "  To  Paris ! ""  under  the  windows  of  the  Maison 
Sauce. 

But  politics  and  its  attendant  stir  and  bustle  were  things 
of  the  past.     Radet  wfis  hardly  more  than  fifty  years  old,  his 
health  was  perfect,  and  he  thought  himself  quite  safe  from 
adventures,   when   on   the    12th   March   1815   a   neighbour 
of  his,  named  Giroux,  came  to  show  him  a  newspaper  that 
had   arrived   that   morning   and   declared   that    Bonaparte, 
having  landed  near  Antibes,  was  marching  victoriously  to 
Paris.     This   was   indeed   overwhelming    news !     The    days 
that  followed  were  passed  in  feverish  agitation  till  the  22nd, 
when  it  was  officially  announced  that  the  King  had  fled  and 
that    "  everything   was   to   begin   all   over    again.""     Radet 
could  not  stand  aloof:   he  packed  his   box,  and  on  Good 
Friday,  the  24th,  he   left    Varennes   at   two  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,   arriving    in    Paris    at    ten    in    the    evening   of 
the    next    day.     Before    six    o'clock    on    Easter     Day    he 
was  hurrying  through  the  streets  to  the  Tuileries,  "  where 
the  crowd  was  stifling.*"     He  saw  the  Emperor,  and  in  the 
throng  was  addressed  by  him  in  a  sentence  of  which  Radet 
"  could  distinguish  nothing  but  his  name,""  but  at  this  one 
half-audible  word  the  old  racketing  life  began  again.      Radet 
was  despatched  to  the  south.     He  started  for  Roanne,  passed 
through  Lyons,  and  arrived  at  Pont-Saint-Esprit,  where  to 
his  amazement  he  heard  that  the  Due  d'Angouleme  was  at 
the  Mayor's  house,  and  that  he,  Radet,  was  to  proceed  to 
arrest  him.       First  the  Pope,  and   then   the   Dauphin    of 
France  !      For  a  man   who  was  a  royalist  and  a  Catholic 
this   was   sheer   cruelty   on   the   part   of  fate.     The   affair, 
however,  was  decorously  earned  out.      Radet,  having  sur- 
rounded the  house  with  his  men,  presented  himself  before  the 
prince,  who,  together  with  the  gentlemen  of  his  suite,  followed 
the  general  without  a  word  of  reproach.      "  He  was  dressed 
like  a  private  individual,  without  decorations  or  distinctive 
marks,  and  wore  upon  his  head  a  little  cloth  cap  of  which 
the  best  that  can  be  said  is  that  it  was  common."    The  party 

263 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

left  the  house  on  foot,  the  general  holding  the  arm  of  the 
Due  d'Angouleme  as  he  had  once  held  the  arm  of  the  Holy 
Father,  "  while  all  the  doors  and  windows  were  filled  with 
people  who  were  giving  loud  expression  to  their  feelings  of 
sorrow."  The  journey  was  performed  in  a  carriage,  and 
lasted  all  night.  On  reaching  Cette,  on  the  following  day, 
Radet  escorted  the  prince  to  the  ship  that  was  to  take  him 
into  exile,  and  then  resumed  his  life  of  travel.  He  was  seen 
at  Lyons,  at  Laon,  at  Avesnes,  at  Charleroi,  at  Waterloo,  at 
Bourges,  at  Tours ;  and  it  was  from  the  latter  place,  on  the 
fall  of  the  Empire,  that  he  once  more  took  the  road  to 
Varennes.     This  time  it  was  surely  the  end. 

Not  at  all.  A  few  days  after  the  execution  of  Marshal 
Ney,  on  the  1st  January,  1816,  Madame  Radet  received  a 
gown  from  Paris  as  a  New  Year's  gift,  in  a  fold  of  which  she 
found  an  unsigned  note  addressed  to  the  general :  "  Take 
steps  to  protect  yourself  from  a  sudden  attack  and  a  search. 
I  mourn  with  you.  Do  not  lose  courage.  Hope  !  *"  Radet 
was  urged  to  fly,  but  he  refused,  and  on  the  4th  January  he 
was  arrested.  The  police  who  had  invaded  his  house  were 
rifling  his  drawers  throughout  the  night  and  seizing  his 
papers,  and  at  dawn  on  the  5th,  in  the  presence  of  the 
Russian  soldiers  who  were  occupying  Varennes  and  had  been 
looking  on — ^gravely  and  quite  uncomprehendingly — since  the 
day  before,  at  what  was  taking  place  at  the  house  of  "  this  fine 
fellow,"  he  was  put  into  a  berline  and  taken  to  Verdun.  He 
only  stayed  there  for  two  hours.  On  the  same  day,  escorted 
by  constabulary,  he  started  for  Besan^on,  where  he  arrived  on 
the  10th.  He  was  closely  confined  in  the  citadel  to  await  his 
appearance  before  a  court-martial. 

No  one  breathed  a  word  to  the  general  as  to  the  reasons  for 
his  imprisonment,  but  his  correspondence  shows  plainly  that 
he  had  no  illusions  on  the  subject.  He  was  arrested,  not  for 
having  served  Bonaparte  during  the  Hundred  Days — that  was 
but  the  pretext;  he  was  attacked,  partly  because  he  had 
removed  the  Due  d'Angouleme,  but  chiefly  because  he  was 
the  man  who  carried  off  the  Pope.  After  six  months  of 
torment  he  was  brought  to  judgment  on  the  25th  June ;  the 
members  of  the  court-martial  dared  not  have  him  shot,  but 

^4 


GENERAL   RADET 

they  unanimously  condemned  him  to  nine  years'  imprison- 
ment, which  he  was  to  undergo  in  this  same  citadel  of  Besan^on. 
The  Governor  at  this  time  was  M.  le  Chevalier  de  Secillon, 
an  old  emigre  who  had  been  a  state  prisoner  for  a  long  time 
during  the  reign  of  the  usurper.  He  only  allowed  the  prisoners 
four  hours  a  day  of  exercise  in  the  yard.  "  That  is  enough,*" 
he  said ;  "  under  Bonaparte  I  had  no  more.''  Such  was  his 
rule  of  conduct. 

And  now  a  touching  fact  must  be  recorded.  When  Radet 
had  become  a  pariah,  kept  in  close  confinement,  reduced  to 
despair,  deserted  by  all ;  when  many  who  might  have  saved 
him  did  not  even  dare  to  mention  his  name  for  fear  of  com- 
promising themselves,  Pope  Pius  VII,  who  was  restored  to 
Rome,  informed  the  prisoner  that  he  had  just  made  restitu- 
tion to  him  of  the  property  of  San  Pastor  in  the  Papal  States, 
which  the  general  had  bought  some  time  before,  and  where  a 
religious  community  had  illegally  established  itself  since  the 
Restoration.  This  expression  of  sympathy  on  the  part  of 
the  old  man  whose  wrongs  the  Bourbons  professed  to  be 
avenging  was  doubtless  not  unconnected  with  the  request  for 
a  pardon  which  the  Due  d'Angouleme  had  the  good  feeling 
to  address  to  the  King  in  favour  of  Radet,  who  thus  owed 
his  liberty  to  his  two  victims. 

The  prison  doors  were  opened  on  January  4th,  1819,  and 
on  the  17th  the  general  returned  to  Varennes,  this  time  to 
leave  it  no  more.  These  first  days  were  for  him  and  his  family 
days  of  rejoicing ;  but  he  was  unrecognisable ;  captivity  and 
injustice  had  broken  him  down.  Ever  afterwards  he  was 
gloomy  and  taciturn,  and  it  was  in  vain  that  he  tried  to  take 
up  his  active  life  again,  for  he  knew  himself  to  be  hated  by  a 
section  of  his  fellow-townsmen.  The  insidious  legend  was 
spreading,  and  those  who  exhibited  Sauce's  shop  to  travel- 
lers pointed  out  also  the  House  on  the  Hill  as  a  place  of 
evil  omen  :  "That  is  the  house  of  the  man  who  carried  off  the 
Pope." 

Radet,  they  say,  never  left  his  own  grounds,  but  walked 
sadly  to  and  fro  upon  his  terrace,  "  devoured  by  remorse." 
When  the  ragamuffins  of  the  town,  in  their  curiosity  to  in- 
vestigate the  mystery,  climbed  upon  each  other's  shoulders  to 

^6 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

reach  the  top  of  the  wall,  and  cast  a  hurried  glance  into  that 
terrible  place — the  garden  of  the  man  under  a  curse — they 
saw  the  old  Jacobin  walking  slowly,  pensively,  despondently, 
with  the  air  of  a  man  who  neither  sees  nor  hears. 

One  day  when  he  was  walking  thus — it  was  the  28th  Sep- 
tember, 1825 — ^he  stopped  suddenly,  his  head  fell  forward, 
and  he  dropped  upon  the  ground.  He  was  dead.  "A judg- 
ment from  Heaven,"  said  the  pious,  and  the  unjust  legend 
became  stronger  than  ever.^ 

*  This  is  the  epitaph  that  may  still  be  read  in  the  cemetery  at  Vareimes, 
on  a  grave  of  plain  black  marble :  **Here  lies  the  Baron  E.  Radet,  Com- 
mander of  the  royal  order  of  the  Legion  of  Honour,  Lieutenant-General 
of  the  King's  armies,  formerly  Inspector-General  of  Constabulary,  bom  at 
Stenay  on  the  19th  of  December  1762,  died  at  Varennes  on  the  28th  of 
September  1825.  His  widow  and  his  adopted  children  have  erected  this 
monument  to  his  memory.     Pray  for  him." 


^m 


CHAPTER   XII 

THE    ADVENTURES    OF    DROUET 

In  appearance  Jean  Baptiste  Drouet  was  robust  and  florid, 
with  a  decided  and  rather  stem  manner.  He  was  more  feared 
than  loved  at  Sainte-Menehould,  it  would  appear,  having  in 
his  voice  and  bearing  the  coarse  roughness  that  was  so  easily 
mistaken  in  the  days  of  the  Revolution  for  heroism,  and  even 
for  genius.  He  combined  courage,  enterprise,  and  tenacity 
with  cunning  and  boastfulness  :  full  of  subtlety  when  schem- 
ing was  axlvisable,  and  of  humility  when  it  was  necessary,  he 
was,  it  was  quite  evident,  predestined  for  an  adventurous 
life  ;  a  man  whom  one  cannot  imagine  living  by  his  o\vn  fire- 
side in  winter,  or  in  his  arbour  in  summer,  or  dying  in  the 
house  where  he  was  bom. 

He  was  twenty-eight  years  old  in  1791,^  and  was  generally 
known  as  Cadet  Drouet,  to  distinguish  him  from  his  elder 
brother,  who  was  nicknamed  Drouet  Fumier.  Their  father, 
notwithstanding  all  that  has  been  said,  was  never  a  post- 
master ;  that  office  was  acquired  by  our  Drouet  in  the  year 
1788,  or  near  it,  at  the  time  of  his  marriage  with  Jeanne 
Le  Bel.2 

1  He  was  born  at  Sainte-M^nehould  on  the  8th  of  January,  1763,  his 
parents  being  Joachim  Nicolas  Drouet,  wood  merchant,  and  Marguerite 
Raulin,  The  father  died  when  the  child  was  but  seven  years  old,  but 
M6re  Drouet  only  died  at  Sainte-M^nehould  in  the  year  X,  and  therefore 
lived  to  see  the  "glory"  of  her  son.  She  had  several  other  children: 
Louis,  Jean  Baptiste's  elder  brother,  bom  in  1750,  died  in  1833  ;  and  two 
daughters,  of  whom  one  married  J.  B.  Vauthiers,  a  landowner  in  La  Mame, 
while  the  other  was  a  nun  of  the  Augustine  Order  at  Nancy. 

2  Drouet  had  three  sons  and  a  daughter.  The  eldest,  Claude  Francois, 
was  bom  Oct.  23,  1789.  The  three  sons  died  childless ;  the  daughter 
in  1813  married  an  ex-captain  called  Charinet,  who  was  d4cor4,  and  for 
some  days  was  sub-prefect  of  Sainte-Menehould  after  the  return  from  Elba. 

267 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

It  is  quite  easy  to  account  for  his  time  during  the  famous 
night  in  which  he  suddenly  became  known  to  history.  He 
sprang  into  the  saddle  at  nine  o''clock  in  the  evening  of 
June  21  st,  and  arrived  at  Varennes  at  about  eleven  ;  we  find 
him  in  the  lower  room  of  the  Bras  d'Or  inn  at  the  reading  of 
the  passport,  with  Madame  Brunier  and  Madame  Neuville 
trembling  close  at  hand;  but  he  did  not  appear  at  the 
window  of  the  royal  berline  nor  yet  in  the  Maison  Sauce. 
Indeed,  he  must  have  left  Varennes  as  soon  as  the  King  was 
identified,  for  he  reappeared  at  Sainte-Menehould  at  four 
oVlock  on  the  morning  of  the  22nd,  bearing  the  news  of  the 
arrest.^  To  go  from  Sainte-Menehould  to  Varennes  and 
back  again  one  must  traverse  fifteen  leagues  of  road.  Drouet 
evidently  went  by  the  side  roads,  since  there  was  no  indication 
at  Clermont  of  his  having  passed  through  that  town  on  either 
journey ;  but  none  the  less  his  time  had  been  energetically 
employed.  Indeed,  it  would  seem  as  though  this  man  were 
not  subject  to  fatigue  at  all,  since  by  six  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing he  was  again  riding  off  to  Clermont  to  meet  the  King, 
and  to  make,  at  the  head  of  the  procession  by  which  the 
prisoners  were  escorted,  a  triumphal  entry  into  Sainte- 
Menehould. 

If  this  mad  ride  of  his  determined  the  fate  of  the  royal 
family,  it  was  destined  to  react  upon  the  life  of  Drouet  him- 
self in  a  way  that  was  no  less  tragic.  By  the  evening  of  the 
24th  he  was  in  Paris,  and  was  introduced  triumphantly  by  the 
municipality  to  the  Assembly,^  who  voted  him  a  reward  of 

1  Official  Report  of  the  Municipality  of  Sainte-Menehould. 

2  National  Assembly.  Sitting  of  the  24th  June  (about  nine  in  the 
evening) : — 

The  President. — Two  deputies  of  the  Commune  of  Paris  ask  to  be  heard. 
They  are  at  the  bar,  and  have  brought  with  them  the  two  citizens  who 
took  the  first  steps  towards  the  King's  arrest.     ( Yea  !  Yes  !) 

M.  Dacier,  one  of  the  deputies,  then  began  to  speak  as  follows : — 
Gentlemen,— The  General  Council  of  the  Commune  has  deputed  us  to 
introduce  to  you  the  citizens  who,  at  Varennes,  prevented  the  King  from 
continuing  his  journey.  Once  Paris  might  have  regretted  that  they  were 
not  born  within  her  walls,  but  to-day  all  Frenchmen  are  brothers,  and 
when  one  of  them  performs  a  fine  action  the  glory  of  it  is  reflected  upon 
the  whole  family.  (Cheers.)  This  is  M.  Drouet,  postmaster  of  Sainte- 
Menehould,  who,  thinking  he  had  recognised  the  King  and  Queen,  was  the 
first  who  determined  to  run  after  them  by  a  cross-country  route,  and  over- 
took them  at  Varennes.   This  is  M.  Guillaume,  his  comrade,  a  clerk  in  the 

268 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  DROUET 

30,000  livres  from  the  nation.  His  portrait  was  engraved, 
and  millions  of  copies  were  sold.  A  month  later  his  name 
was  known  by  the  whole  of  Europe. 

As  a  deputy  to  the  Convention  Drouet  voted  for  the  Bang's 
death^  sans  sursis — without  delay.  In  October,  1793,  being 
with  the  Army  of  the  North,  he  was  taken  prisoner  under  the 
walls  of  Maubeuge  by  a  flying  squadron  of  Austrians.  Two 
years  later,  from  the  rostrum  of  the  Council  of  Five  Hundred, 
he  told  the  story  of  this  adventure  himself  : 

"  Francheville,  who  was  in  command  at  Maubeuge,''  he  said, 
"  declared  that  the  town  could  not  hold  out  long,  and  that  it 
was  necessary  that  some  reliable  man,  capable  of  carrying  his 
point,  should  make  his  way  through  the  Austrian  lines  and 
take  information  to  Paris  of  the  critical  situation  of  the 
place. 

"  I  felt  that  it  would  be  for  the  infinite  advantage  of  the 
Republic  that  I  should  undertake  this  enterprise.  Did  I 
perish,  my  death  would  inspire  the  soldier  with  a  longing  for 

service  of  the  department,  who  accompanied  him,  and  with  him  took  all 
the  measures  that  resulted  in  putting  an  end  to  the  King's  journey. 
M.  Drouet  will  ask  the  Assembly's  permission  to  describe  all  that  he 
witnessed  and  did  in  connection  with  this  affair.     ( Yea  !  Yes  t) 

The  President.— M.  Drouet,  you  have  our  permission. 

And  Drouet  began  to  speak,  quite  calmly,  quite  at  his  ease.  Then 
suddenly  ho  broke  forth  into  that  special  kind  of  eloquence  which  later  on 
he  was  so  often  to  display  on  the  platform  of  the  Convention.  His  speech, 
as  reproduced  in  Vol.  XVII  of  the  Parliamentary  Archives  (p.  508),  is 
clear,  precise,  and,  so  to  speak,  rough  ;  one  feels  that  the  orator  is 
prepared  to  back  up  every  word  he  utters  with  a  blow.  This  peasant  was 
not  in  the  least  intimidated  by  the  solemn  trappings  of  the  Assembly  ;  he 
went  straight  on,  arranging  his  narrative  methodically  and  forgetting  no 
picturesque  detail  or  amusing  phrase.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  deputies 
felt  themselves  to  be  in  the  presence  of  someone.  Drouet's  triumph  was 
great.  He  was  repeatedly  interrupted  by  cheers.  When  he  had  finished 
the  President  took  up  the  tale,  "The  National  Assembly,"  he  said, 
"has  received  you  with  the  enthusiasm  that  is  due  to  citizens  so  zealous 
for  the  public  weal,  to  men  who  have  perhaps  saved  France  from  a 
disastrous  war.  The  Commune  of  Paris  regrets  that  you  were  not  born 
as  her  son,  but  all  France  claims  you  for  her  own,  since  it  is  she  that  has 
been  saved  by  you.  The  National  Assembly  undertakes  to  recognise  the 
services  that  you  have  rendered  to  the  country,  begs  to  assure  you  of  its 
satisfaction  with  your  conduct,  and  invites  you  to  take  part  in  the  present 
sitting." 

^  On  the  7th  of  July,  1793,  Drouet,  as  a  member  of  the  Committee  of 
Public  Safety,  visited  the  Temple  prison  with  his  colleagues  Maure, 
Chabot,  and  Dumont.  This  was  the  first  time  that  Marie  Antoinette  had 
seen  Drouet,  for  he  did  not  appear  before  the  royal  family  during  the  night 
at  Vareunes. 

269 


OF 


THE  PLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

revenge  and  would  increase  his  energy  twofold  ;  did  I  succeed, 
I  should  bring  new  life  into  the  neighbouring  country,  I 
should  hastily  collect  food,  forage,  the  needful  ammunition, 
and  above  all,  men :  then  I  should  fall  upon  the  enemy,  after 
having  made  signals  that  would  be  audible  from  the  town. 
I  should  be  able  to  save  Maubeuge  and  the  Republic. 

"  I  took  a  hundred  picked  dragoons,  and  on  the  2nd 
October,  at  midnight,  I  went  forth  into  the  Austrian  lines. 
We  had  agreed  to  go  very  slowly  and  in  a  compact  body, 
for  fear  of  plunging  in  the  darkness  into  the  enemy''s  trenches. 
Unfortunately,  we  could  not  avoid  passing  in  front  of  a  camp 
of  infantry:  the  whistling  of  the  bullets  and  the  reports 
of  the  guns  made  our  horses  start  off  at  a  gallop.  What  I 
had  foreseen  occurred :  we  fell  into  a  trench.  Several  of  the 
dragoons  were,  with  myself,  unhorsed.  I  picked  myself  up 
and  seized  the  first  horse  I  saw  ;  but  a  dragoon  who  had  lost 
his  entreated  me  not  to  desert  him  in  the  midst  of  the  enemy. 
I  allowed  him  to  mount  behind  me,  but  the  horse,  being 
young  and  fiery,  became  very  lively.  Five  minutes  passed, 
and  now  my  escort  had  advanced  too  far  for  me  to  be  able 
to  see  in  the  darkness  the  direction  in  which  they  had  gone. 

"  There  we  were,  then,  the  soldier  and  I,  surrounded  by  the 
enemy.  A  few  steps  farther  on  we  met  a  patrol  of  the 
enemy^'s,  composed  of  five  hussars.  The  dragoon  suggested 
yielding,  but  I  charged,  shouting  :  Follow  me^  dragoons ! 
The  enemy  retired,  but  almost  at  once  returned  in  greater 
numbers.  It  being  necessary  to  fly,  I  put  spurs  to  my  horse, 
and  soon  fell  into  a  deep  ravine,  where  I  became  unconscious. 
The  hussars  found  me,  and  slashed  me  with  their  sabres  ;  then 
they  carried  me  away,  nearly  dead.  When  I  came  to  myself 
I  described  myself  as  a  French  officer.  My  wounds  were 
dressed  with  tolerable  care.  Afterwards  I  declared  myself  to 
be  a  representative  of  the  people ;  and  when  it  was  known 
that  I  was  the  Drouet  who  had  stopped  Louis  XVI  at 
Varennes  I  was  ruthlessly  ill-treated.  When  I  asked  for 
some  bread  after  fasting  for  forty-eight  hours,  a  young  officer 
said  to  me,  '  Be  off,  rogue  !  It  is  not  worth  while  to  give 
you  any  for  such  a  short  time  ! ' 

"  I    was   thrown   into   a  cart.       The  emigres  especially 

270 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  DROUET 

loaded  me  with  insults.  Prince  Colloredo,  before  whom 
I  was  taken,  told  me  that  the  French  were  faithless,  for  they 
had  just  sent  against  La  Vendee  the  garrison  of  Mayence, 
who  had  promised  not  to  serve  against  the  Emperor  again 
during  this  war. 

"  Soon  after  this  I  was  taken  before  General  I-atour. 
I  was  loaded  with  irons,  and  covered  with  wounds,  and  in  a 
state  that  at  all  events  witnessed  to  my  courage  and  should 
have  won  some  consideration  from  a  soldier.  This  man  struck 
me  twice  heavily  in  the  stomach  with  his  fist,  and  when  I  fell 
he  spat  in  my  face.  '  I  am  defenceless,'  I  said,  '  and  you 
insult  me !  Let  these  chains  be  removed  if  you  dare,  and 
give  me  a  sword.  Wounded  though  I  am  in  several  parts  of 
my  bo(iy,  you  would  not  dare  to  look  me  in  the  face.'  He 
became  more  furious  than  ever,  and  the  guards  took  me 
away. 

"I  was  dragged  away  then.  I  was  thrown  half  naked 
upon  some  straw,  with  my  feet  and  hands  in  irons,  in  a  damp 
and  poisonous  cell.     I  remained  there  for  some  months.""  ^ 

There  is  always  a  piquant  pleasure  in  revising  autobio- 
graphical documents,  and  by  a  happy  chance  we  are  able  to 
compare  Drouefs  narrative  with  that  of  the  Austrian  officer 
who  arrested  him.  He  was  called  Baron  Ferdinand  de 
Stetten,  and  took  notes  day  by  day  of  his  "  impressions  of 
the  war.""  A  number  of  the  note-books  have  been  lost,  but 
that  of  October,  1793,  which  is  numbered  14,  still  exists, 
and  in  it  are  the  following  lines  : — ^ 

"  The  captain  in  command  having  been  severely  wounded, 
I  was  commanding  the  squadron  that  had  been  sent  to  the 
outposts,  and  as  we  were  being  perpetually  harassed  by  the 
enemy,  I  was  unable  to  sleep,  and  was  writing  my  report  on 
the  last  affair.  At  about  midnight  we  still  had  a  good  fire, 
and  I  set  to  work  to  write  to  Max  ^  as  well.  Then  the  idea 
came  into  my  head  to  ride  out  with  a  certain  number  of  my 
men  to  reconnoitre  in  the  direction  of  a  little  copse  that 

^  LeMoniteur  of  the  28th  Nivose,  year  IV. 

2  We  owe  this  extract  to  M.  Ferdinand  Bac,  grandson  of  Baron 
Ferdinand  de  Stetten.  We  hope  that  M.  Bac  will  accept  our  most  sincere 
thanks. 

^  M.  de  Stetten's  cousin. 

271 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 


seemed  to  me  suspicious.  We  had  hardly  gone  the  distance 
of  a  hundred  paces  when  I  saw  a  man  near  a  tree  hastily 
mounting  his  horse.  I  cried  Werda  ?  ^  He  discharged  his 
pistol  at  me,  and  began  to  shout  to  a  troop  of  about  sixty 
soldiers  who  were  behind  him,  'A  moi!  Here  are  the 
Austrians ! ' 

"  With  our  white  uniforms,  when  we  had  no  cloaks  with 
us,  we  were  always  conspicuous  from  a  distance ; 
and  some  of  my  men  were  not  wearing  cloaks 
that  evening.  We  saw  that  this  detachment 
was  intending  to  surprise  our  outposts  by 
advancing  cautiously,  but  their  numbers  were 
not  considerable.  They  attacked  us  with 
great  violence  in  order  to  force  their  way 
through,  but  after  a  lively  resistance  I  suc- 
ceeded in  scattering  the  greater  number ;  and 
their  leader,  and  some  of  his  men  who  had 
been  disarmed  and  dismounted,  were  handed 
over  to  me  as  prisoners.  The  officer  was  not 
wearing  a  complete  military  uniform.  He  had 
a  green  cloth  coat,  like  an  ordinary  citizen's, 
with  the  epaulets,  waistcoat,  and  hat  of  his 
profession,  as  well  as  the  breeches  and  boots. 
I  questioned  him  as  to  this  peculiarity,  and  he  said  the  reason 
was  because  the  other  coat  was  being  dried. 

"  A  short  time  afterwards  the  following  fact  was  reported 
to  me.  One  of  my  men  had  given  some  schnaps-and-water 
to  one  of  our  prisoners  who  had  received  a  sword-cut  and 
could  only  walk  with  difficulty.  He  had  confided  to  my  man 
— ^for  he  understood  something  of  his  language — that  his 
chief  was  some  one  notable  who  had  been  very  much  talked 
about,  but  he  did  not  know  his  name.  I  had  not  yet  had 
him  searched.  I  went  up  to  him  and  asked  his  name.  He 
answered  something  that  I  could  not  understand,  and  I 
informed  him  that  he  was  to  be  searched,  and  saw  it  done  on 
the  spot. 

"  He  then  told  me  voluntarily  that  he  was  called  Drouet. 
This  name,  which  I  knew  in  connection  with  the  sad  circum- 

1  Qui  vive  ? 

212 


DROUET  8  SEAL. 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF   DROUET 

stances  of  the  flight  of  the  King  of  France,  reduced  me  to  a 
state  of  the  deepest  emotion.  Nothing  very  important  was 
found  upon  him  but  some  recent  orders,  a  triangular  medal 
of  yellow  metal,  a  silver  watch  with  three  cases  and  some 
patriotic  emblems,  a  bronze  seal  for  sealing  letters,  and  some 
onions  in  one  of  his  pockets.  My  men  tried  to  maltreat 
him,  and  even  in  their  exasperation  to  kill  him  where  he 
stood.  I  used  every  means  to  keep  them  quiet,  and  I  had 
the  greatest  trouble  to  protect  him.  Although  my  authority 
throughout  the  campaign  had  never  been  called  in  question, 
and  my  soldiers  were  altogether  devoted  to  me,  we  had  a 
very  serious  disa^eement  on  the  subject  of  this  man  Drouet, 
and  I  was  obliged  to  push  my  horse  right  up  in  front  of  him, 
making  it  plain  with  all  the  earnestness  at  my  command  that 
he  was  to  be  taken  alive  to  the  Archduke,  who  would  dispose 
of  him  in  the  proper  way ;  and  I  threatened  to  have  the  men 
shot  in  camp  if  anything  else  were  done.  But  it  was  with 
the  greatest  difficulty  that  I  got  him  safely  to  the  camp,  by 
protecting  him  the  whole  time  with  my  horse  and  my  sword. 
On  arriving  in  camp  I  was  warmly  congratulated  by  my 
superior  officers,  and  after  the  examination  of  the  prisoner, 
at  which  I  assisted,  some  of  our  men  were  lashed  up  and 
flogged.  Drouet  thanked  me  warmly  for  having  saved  him 
from  death,  and  bore  witness  in  the  presence  of  my  command- 
ing officers  to  the  service  I  had  rendered  him.  He  asked 
permission  to  give  me  his  watch,  but  I  declined  to  accept  it, 
saying  that  it  would  be  useful  to  him.  Then  he  gave  me  his 
bronze  seal,  which  I  always  kept  with  great  care,  and  was 
often  begged  to  show. 

"  The  next  day  Drouet  was  taken  off"  under  a  good  escort 
to  Spielberg,  near  Briinn."" 

Drouefs  capture  was  a  great  grief  to  the  patriots,  and  the 
whole  of  France  shuddered  at  the  story  of  the  tortures  that 
the  Austrians  inflicted  on  "the  man  of  Varennes.""  They 
had,  it  was  said,  shut  him  up  in  a  cage,  with  his  head  and 
hands  fixed  in  a  pillory ;  and  hiere  he  would  have  died  of 
hunger  if  he  had  not  been  saved  by  an  old  man — Gerard 
Meunier — the  father  of  ten  children,  who  at  the  risk  of  his 
life  took  some  food  to  the  prisoner.    The  most  amazing  thing 

273  T 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

in  the  affair  is  that,  a  year  later,  the  victorious  French  dis- 
covered at  Brussels  the  iron  cage  in  which  Drouet  had  been 
tortured.  It  was  brought  to  Paris,  and  Barere  begged  "  that 
it  might  be  hung  in  the  Hall  of  the  Convention "" ;  but  the 
deputies  were  not  particularly  anxious  to  carry  on  their 
deliberations  under  such  a  heavy  machine  of  Damocles,  and 
preferred  the  suggestion  of  Sergent  that  the  contrivance 
should  be  placed  at  the  feet  of  the  statue  of  Liberty  in  the 
Place  de  la  Revolution.  Here  it  was  guarded  by  a  veteran 
whose  office  consisted  in  repeating  from  time  to  time, 
"  Citizens,  such  are  the  benefits  that  are  being  prepared  for 
you  by  tyrants."" 

Gerard  Meunier  received  6,000  livres  in  cash,  and  a  pension 
of  1,500  livres,  revertible  to  his  ten  children.^ 

The  cage  apparently  was  pure  invention.  On  the  6th 
October,  1793,  Drouet  had  arrived  at  Brussels  with  a  strong 
escort,  on  his  way  to  Briinn,  and  he  had  been  lodged,  well 
guarded,  first  at  the  public  Treasury  ^  and  afterwards  at 
Sainte-Elizabeth.  There  was  a  great  sensation  among  the 
emigres  who  were  living  in  the  town.  Fersen  lost  no  time  in 
going  to  see  "  his  rival,"  and  these  two  men,  who  were  un- 
known to  each  other,  but  had  engaged  with  equal  zeal  in  the 
most  romantic  duel  in  history,  stood  face  to  face  for  the  first 
time.  Drouet  doubtless  had  no  suspicion  that  this  gentle- 
man who  came  to  see  him  was  the  instigator  and  organiser  of 
the  royal  flight,  and  Fersen  for  his  part  suppressed  the 
furious  resentment  that  half  choked  him  at  the  sight  of  this 
rustic  who  had  defeated  him  and  was  now  defeated  in  his 
turn.  But  on  that  same  evening  he  wrote  the  following 
words  in  his  journal — words  too  valuable  not  to  be  quoted 
verbatim : — 

''Sunday  the  6th. — Drouet  arrived  at  eleven  o'clock.  I 
went  with  Colonel  Harvey  to  see  him  in  his  prison  at  Sainte- 
Elizabeth.  He  is  a  man  six  foot  tall,  from  thirty-three  to 
thirty-four  years  of  age,  who  would  be  fairly  good-looking  if 
he  were  not  such  a  villain.     He  had  irons  on  his  feet  and 

^  See  Le  Moniteur,  27th  Fructidor,  year  II.  See  also  in  the  Moniteur 
the  report  of  the  sitting  of  the  Convention  of  the  2nd  Vend^miaire, 
year  III, 

2  Moniteur  of  Oct.  30th,  1793. 

274 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  DROUET 

hands.  We  asked  him  if  he  were  the  postmaster  of  Sainte- 
Menehould  who  had  stopped  the  King  at  Varennes,  and  he 
told  us  that  it  was  he  who  had  been  at  Varennes,  but  that  it 
was  not  he  who  had  stopped  the  King.  He  never  opened  his 
overcoat,  for  fear  of  showing  the  chain  that  fastened  his  right 
foot  to  his  left  hand.  The  sight  of  this  infamous  scoundrel 
filled  me  with  rage,  and  the  restraint  I  put  upon  myself  to 
say  nothing  to  him,  because  of  the  Abbe  de  Limon  and  the 
Comte  FitzJames,  who  were  with  us,  was  really  painful  to 
me. 


■''1 


Three  days  later  the  Swedish  nobleman  writes  again  : 
"  Drouet  was  taken  yesterday  to  the  house  of  the  Comte 
de  Metteniich,  where  he  was  questioned.  He  began  by 
declaring  that  he  would  answer  everything,  but  that  if  he 
knew  of  a  weak  side  of  Maubeuge  which  might  facilitate  the 
capture  of  the  town,  he  would  not  tell  of  it.  .  .  .  With  regard 
to  the  King^s  arrest,  he  said  that  it  was  the  postmaster  of 
Chalons  who  came  to  tell  him  that  M.  de  Romeuf  arrived 
there  an  hour  after  the  King,  so  greatly  fatigued  that  he 
could  not  go  any  farther,  and  had  informed  him  that  the 
King  and  his  family  were  in  that  carriage,  and  that  someone 
at  Sainte-Menehould  ought  to  be  told  to  run  after  them  and 
stop  them.2  That  he  (Drouet)  had  started  off,  and  had 
arrived  at  Varennes  three-quarters  of  an  hour  before  the 
King ;  that,  guessing  there  would  be  some  hussars  there,  he 
had  dismounted  at  the  inn  that  he  usually  frequented,^  and 
had,  as  he  expected,  found  some  there ;  that  a  bodyguard  had 
arrived  a  moment  later  to  warn  them  ;  *  that  he  had  then  gone 
to  warn  his  friends,  and  had  barricaded  the  bridge.  He  gave 
no  other  details  as  to  the  arrest,  which  was  carried  out  by 
the  mimicipal  body  and  in  which  he  took  no  part,  having 
carefully  avoided  appearing  before  the  King,  and  having  never 

^  Le  Comte  de  Feraen  et  la  Cmir  de  France,  Vol.  II. ,  p.  93. 

2  Drouet's  version,  then,  was  this  :  Romeuf  arrived  at  ChMons  at  about 
five  o'clock  (one  hour  after  the  berline  had  passed  through),  and  sent  Viet 
the  postmaster  of  Chalons,  to  warn  Sainte-M^nehould.  The  upshot  ot 
this  very  important  evidence  is  that,  according  to  Drouet— by  some  means 
whose  details  he  knew  nothing  of,  unless  Fersen  misunderstood  them — the 
news  of  the  flight  travelled  along  the  road  one  hour  later  than  the  royal 
family  themselves. 

*  Evidently  the  Bras  d'Or.  *  The  hussars. 

275  T  2 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

shown  any  lack  of  respect  towards  him.  That  he  had  not 
accompanied  the  King,  and  had  been  in  no  way  wanting  in 
respect  towards  him ;  that  he  had  arrived  in  Paris  a  day 
before  the  King. 

"  With  regard  to  the  King's  death,  he  said  he  had  voted  for 
it  because  he  believed  it  was  necessary,  like  the  death  of  Jesus 
Christ ;  and  moreover,  what  had  decided  him  was  that  the 
King  was  accused  of  being  the  cause  of  the  armies  entering 
Champagne,  since  everything  was  done  in  his  name  and  for  him. 

"  He  is  a  man  of  no  education,  but  it  is  thought  that  he 
writes  better  (than  he  speaks),  for  he  said  several  times  that 
he  could  answer  the  questions  that  were  put  to  him  better  in 
writing.    He  said  that  everything  he  did  he  would  do  again."  ^ 

A  month  later,  after  a  rough  journey  across  Germany, 
Drouet  was  imprisoned  at  Briinn,  in  Moravia,  in  that  fortress 
of  Spielberg  that  was  to  be  made  famous  later  on  by  Sylvio 
Pellico. 

Through  the  window  of  his  cell  Drouet  was  able  to  see  a 
little  corner  of  the  landscape  :  the  last  houses  of  a  suburb, 
some  gardens,  a  little  river,  with  a  boat  moored  under  the 
willows.  He  pictured  himself  free,  unfastening  the  boat, 
drifting  with  the  current  to  the  Danube,  and  thence  reaching 
Constantinople  ;  and  the  most  fantastic  scheme  of  escape  grew 
up  in  his  adventurous  mind.  The  Spielberg  fortress  crowns  a 
precipitous  rock,  and  the  prisoner's  idea  was  to  descend  to  the 
plain  by  the  help  of  a  parachute !  He  set  to  work  at  once. 
His  clothes,  sewn  one  to  the  other  by  means  of  a  carp's  bone, 
and  the  wood  of  his  bedstead  cut  up  into  thin  laths,  furnished 
the  materials  for  the  contrivance,  with  which  he  twice  experi- 
mented successfully  in  his  cell.  How  did  he  baffle  the 
watchfulness  of  his  jailers  ?  The  story  is  full  of  improbability ; 
but  is  there  not  a  touch  of  extravagance  in  the  lives  of  all 
these  men  of  the  Revolution,  who  had  vowed  themselves,  it 
would  seem,  to  the  pursuit  of  the  unexpected  and  the  im- 
possible ?  It  is  at  all  events  a  fact  that  one  night  Drouet, 
having  sawn  through  his  bars  and  unfurled  his  apparatus,  took 
the  leap — closed  his  eyes  and  sprang  out.  The  fall  was 
terrible.  He  dropped  upon  the  rock  from  a  height  of  two 
^  Le  Comte  de  Feraen  et  la  Gour  de  France,  Vol.  II.,  94. 

276 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  DROUET 

hundred  feet,  breaking  his  bones  as  he  fell ;  and  as  the  sentries 
had  fled  in  a  panic  before  this  fearful-looking  machine  as  it 
issued  from  the  side  of  the  fortress  in  the  night,  the  wretched 
man  lay  in  tortures  at  the  foot  of  the  walls  until  daybreak.^ 

*  It  was  thus  that  he  described  the  adventure  later  on  to  his  colleagues  : — 

*'A11  my  dreams  were  of  ways  to  escape.  I  had  been  carried  oflF  to 
Luxembourg,  to  the  fortress  of  Spielberg,  in  Moravia.  It  is  situated  on 
the  little  river  Schwartz,  which  flows  into  the  Danube.  From  my  window 
I  could  see  a  little  boat  that  I  ardently  longed  to  run  off  with.  By 
drifting  with  the  current  I  should  have  reached  the  Danube,  and  from  the 
Danube  passed  into  the  Black  Sea,  whence  I  hoped  it  would  not  be  im- 
possible to  get  to  Constantinople.  But  to  reach  the  boat  it  was  necessary 
to  break  the  bars  of  my  window  and  fling  myself  on  to  a  terrace,  whence, 
to  reach  the  plain,  I  should  have  to  hurl  myself  over  a  precipice,  for  the 
terrace  of  this  fortress,  which  stood  upon  a  precipitous  bluff"  of  rock,  was 
two  hundred  feet  above  the  plain. 

"I  began  by  tearing  out  the  rod  that  held  my  curtains,  and  also  two 
strong  eye-bolts  a  foot  and  a  half  in  length,  with  which  my  bars  had 
recently  been  strengthened.  I  also  soon  succeeded  in  loosening  my  bars, 
which  I  replaced  in  such  a  way  that  my  labours  could  not  be  detected. 
At  last  I  was  possessed  of  the  means  of  leaving  my  room  ;  the  next  thing 
was  to  find  out  how  I  could  leave  the  fortress,  how  I  could  reach  the 
bottom  of  that  precipice  two  hundred  feet  in  depth,  where  moreover 
several  sentries  were  placed  at  intervals  of  two  hundred  yards.  I  had 
no  means  of  procuring  ropes.  I  decided  to  construct  a  parachute,  for 
the  soldiers,  when  they  saw  a  great  bulky  object  descending  from  the 
skies,  would  run  away,  and  I  should  make  a  aash  for  the  much-desired  boat. 

"I  set  to  work  at  once.  I  tore  up  cotton  caps  and  stockings,  and  so 
made  myself  some  thread.  A  fishbone  served  mo  for  a  needle,  and  with 
pieces  of  cloth  sewn  together  and  supported  by  bits  of  wood  torn  from  my 
cell  I  succeeded  in  making  myself  a  sort  of  parasol.  The  ceiling  of  my 
room  was  high  and  had  a  cornice  eight  feet  from  the  floor,  from  which 
I  often  flung  myself  to  the  floor  with  my  machine  without  feeling  the 
slightest  shock.  I  persuaded  myself  that  out  of  doors  the  greater 
resistance  of  the  air  would  support  me  better.  .  .  . 

**  At  last  everything  was  reswiy.  The  21st  of  June,  1794,  had  come,  the 
anniversary  of  an  era  famous  in  the  annals  of  the  Republic  and  in  the 
history  of  my  life.  I  chose  that  day  for  my  escape.  .  .  .  An  illness 
prevented  me  from  carrying  out  my  design,  and  it  was  during  the  night  of 
the  6th  of  July  that  I  took  it  in  hand.  I  opened  my  machine  and  tore  out 
my  bars,  which  were  only  apparently  fastened.  Twice  I  attempted  to 
launch  myself  upon  the  air,  twice  an  invisible  power  seemed  to  hold  me 
back,  for  nature,  seeing  my  destruction  so  near,  recoiled  from  obeying  the 
dictates  of  my  heart.  At  last  I  took  several  paces  backwards,  then, 
rushing  at  full  speed  with  my  eyes  closed,  I  precipitated  myself  into  the 
depths  of  the  abyss. 

•*  The  rapidity  of  my  fall  was  such  that  I  cried  out  at  once,  /  am  a  dead 
man.  But  I  was  mistaken  ;  all  that  I  felt  at  first  was  that  one  of  my  feet 
was  quite  numb.  A  wall  was  in  front  of  me,  and  I  wished  to  rise  in  order 
to  get  over  it,  but  my  foot,  which  was  broken,  prevented  me,  and  I  began 
to  feel  great  pain.  It  became  so  acute  that  I  screamed  aloud." — Le 
Moniteur  of  the  28th  Niv6se,  year  IV. 

Drouet's  story  was  printed,  sent  to  every  commune  in  France,  and 
translated  into  every  language. 

277 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

He  was  taken  back,  dying,  and  put  in  a  more  secure  cell.  At 
the  end  of  six  weeks  he  was  on  his  feet  again  ;  at  the  end  of 
six  months  he  was  free.  Of  all  the  members  of  the  royal 
family  who  had  travelled  in  the  berline  that  was  stopped  at 
Varennes  none  survived  but  the  daughter  of  Louis  XVI ;  and 
this  child  was  the  price  demanded  by  Austria  for  Drouet's 
liberty.  The  exchange  was  made ;  and  I  do  not  think  that 
the  greatest  dramatists  have  devised  any  more  striking  chain 
of  contrasts  and  incidents  than  this. 

The  ex-postmaster,  once  more  triumphant,  returned  to 
Paris,  and  on  the  very  first  day,  amid  the  cheers  of  the 
Council  of  Five  Hundred,  he  told  the  story  of  his  amazing 
adventures.  For  the  second  time  he  was  at  the  summit  of 
fortune ;  but  he  did  not  stay  there  long,  for  before  six  months 
had  passed  he  was  a  prisoner  for  the  third  time.  Having 
compromised  himself  in  the  conspiracy  of  Babeuf,  he  was  im- 
prisoned in  the  Abbaye,  but  escaped  by  a  chimney-flue  and 
hobbled  off  through  the  streets,  walking  very  slowly  on  account 
of  his  leg,  which  was  only  half  healed.  He  was  overtaken  by 
some  soldiers  who  were  pursuing  the  fugitive,  who  asked  the 
same  man  "  if  he  had  not  seen  a  prisoner  running  away  as  fast 
as  he  could."  "  No,*"  he  answered ;  "  and  besides,  I  don't 
make  it  my  business  to  stop  escaping  prisoners."  Upon  which 
the  soldiers  went  on  their  way. 

On  the  following  day  Drouet  contributed  a  detailed  account 
of  his  escape  to  the  Journal  des  hommes  libres.^  Then  he  crossed 
the  frontier  into  Switzerland,  embarked  at  Genoa  for  India 

1  The  letter  to  the  Journal  des  hommes  libres,  tridi,  3rd  Fructidor, 
year  IV,  was  written  to  "save  trouble  to  all  the  anecdotists."  Drouet 
describes  how,  on  the  22nd  Flore^al,  "as  soon  as  he  was  thrown  alive  into 
the  tomb,"  he  went  into  his  cell  and  got  up  the  chimney  ;  "  an  iron  grating 
stopped  him,  but  on  it  he  found  a  bundle  of  rope,  a  saw  for  cutting  iron, 
and  several  other  tools."  The  Abbaye  apparently  was  not  a  carefully 
inspected  prison.  After  working  for  eight  days  he  succeeded  in  escaping 
by  this  chimney  and  the  roofs.  He  was  "obliged  to  stop  in  a  dark  alley 
to  tidy  himself  up  a  little,  and  brush  from  his  dust-stained  clothes  the 
marks  of  his  escalade."  This  delay,  and  "his  half -healed  leg,  which 
prevented  him,  whether  he  liked  it  or  not,  from  appearing  much  hurried," 
gave  time  to  a  patrol  to  catch  him  up.  He  answered  them  as  we  have 
seen.  "  This  is  my  latest  conspiracy,"  adds  Drouet,  "  f or  I  do  not  doubt 
that  the  chouannerie  will  find  evidence  of  conspiracy  here  too.  And  on 
this  occasion,  at  all  events,  I  have  given  them  the  advantage  of  seeing  me 
in  the  very  act." 

278 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  DROUET 

under  the  name  of  Martiny,  landed  at  the  Canaries,  where  he 
fought  against  the  English  when  they  attacked  TenerifFe,  re- 
turned to  France  after  the  18th  of  Fructidor,  and  received  a 
new  indemnity  of  30,000  francs  as  a  victim  to  tlie  hatred  of 
kings  and  of  their  incorrigible  partisans — which  did  not  pre- 
vent him  from  accepting  shortly  afterwards  from  the  Emperor 
the  sub-prefecture  of  Sainte-Menehould  and  the  title  of 
Chevalier  of  the  Legion  of  Honour.  Napoleon,  as  he  fastened 
the  cross  on  the  chest  of  the  ex-postmaster,  said  to  him, 
"  M.  Drouet,  you  have  altered  the  face  of  the  earth/'' 

This  was  why,  when  the  Empire  fell,  the  Restoration  did 
not  forgive  him.  On  the  King''s  first  return  the  retired  post- 
master had  simply  been  deprived  of  his  office  of  sub-prefect ; 
but  after  Waterloo,  as  he  was  considered  to  have  contributed 
to  the  usurper's  return,  he  was  treated  as  a  "dangerous 
character.""  Long  before  the  regicides  had  been  banished  by 
law  a  search  for  him  was  instituted.  The  order  to  "  i-un  him 
down''  is  dated  October  24th,  1815,  and  the  police  of 
M.  Decaze  made  it  a  point  of  honour  to  catch  the  "  infamous 
Drouet,"  for  such  was  the  epithet  sanctioned  by  the  letters  of 
the  Government.  They  expected  to  capture  him  at  No.  31 
Rue  des  Fosses  Saint-Marcel,  where,  according  to  the  state- 
ment of  the  Due  d'Havre,  who  was  not  above  making  himself 
into  a  police  agent  for  the  occasion,  the  ex-Conventionist 
had  set  up  a  printing  press  for  revolutionary  writings ;  but 
no  one  was  found  there  but  his  youngest  son,  Victor  Auguste 
Drouet,  who  declared  that  he  did  not  know  what  had  become 
of  his  father.  This  disappointment  only  whetted  the  zeal  of 
the  Government,  and  at  the  end  of  1815  the  whole  staff  of 
the  Commissioner  of  Police,  the  special  agents  of  M.  Decaze, 
the  military  police,  the  prefects  of  the  Meuse,  of  the 
Ardennes,  and  of  the  Mame,  the  sub-prefects  and  parquets  of 
Sainte-Menehould,  Verdun,  and  Saint-Mihiel,  and  all  the 
brigades  of  constabulary,  were  occupied  in  tracking  the  regi- 
cide ;  not  to  mention  Dr.  Normand,  a  worthy  physician  of 
Sainte-Menehould,  who  brought  to  this  chase  even  more  zeal 
than  the  officials,  seeing  that  his  wife,  nee  Christine  Mencke, 
had  left  him  for  the  ex-Conventionist. 

Drouet,  according  to  various  sources  of  information,  was 

279 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

said  to  have  taken  refuge  at  Bar  with  his  relations  the 
Demoiselles  Lebel,  or  at  Rambluzin  with  his  former  colleague 
Courtois;  he  was  sought  successively  at  Triancourt,  at 
Maugarni,  at  Vavincourt,  at  Lavoye,  at  Vienne-la-Ville,  at 
Corrupt,  at  Neufour,  and  at  Le  Bois  d'Espense.  To  track 
Drouet  had  become  a  sport  to  which  the  police  devoted  them- 
selves with  the  tenacity  of  the  persistent  gambler.  Their 
efforts  resulted  in  the  discovery  of  Claude  Francois  Drouet, 
ex-captain  of  constabulary.  Chevalier  of  the  Legion  of  Honour, 
the  second  son  of  the  "  infamous  postmaster.""  He  was  pack- 
ing his  boxes  for  a  journey  to  Brazil,  and  for  two  years 
had  heard  nothing  of  his  father,  with  whom  he  had 
quarrelled. 

And  if  the  police  were  half  demented  on  the  subject,  the 
peasants,  who  were  much  entertained  by  the  perpetual  dis- 
appointments of  the  authorities,  did  not  fail  to  mislead  them. 
The  wildest  information  was  seriously  received,  and  the  people 
delighted  in  despatching  the  police  to  ransack  some  old 
abandoned  quarries  near  Sainte-Menehould ;  or  in  sending 
them  down  among  the  reservoirs  of  the  Abbey  of  Beaulieu, 
where  it  was  known  for  a  certainty  that  the  regicide  was  in 
hiding ;  or  in  organising  battues  in  the  most  inaccessible  dis- 
tricts of  the  forest  of  Argonne.  A  woman  called  Belval- 
Piesvaux  led  the  police  to  a  little  hovel  in  the  depth  of  the 
woods,  whither,  she  said,  she  carried  food  every  day  to  the 
outlaw.  When  the  men  had  been  blockading  the  hut  for 
twelve  days  the  woman  Piesvaux  unblushingly  confessed  that 
she  had  received  twenty  francs  from  Drouet  Fumier  "  to  play 
this  trick  upon  the  agents  of  the  police."  The  Prefect  of 
Police,  having  come  to  an  end  of  his  resources,  even  thought 
of  ostensibly  discharging  an  honest  constable  called  Garnier, 
a  discreet  and  trustworthy  member  of  the  force,  who  by  this 
means  might  be  able  "  to  worm  himself  into  the  confidence  of 
the  ill-disposed."  Finally,  a  respectable  priest  of  Nancy,  the 
Abbe  Degrelette,  gave  the  information  that  a  sister  of 
Drouefs,  a  nun  of  Saint-Charles,  had  confessed  that  the  ex- 
Conventionist  had  died  at  Sainte-Menehould  in  a  house  that 
she  was  unable  to  indicate,  and  that  he  had  been  buried  in  a 
cellar.     This  settlement  of  the  matter,  whether  it  were  true 

280 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  DROUET 

or  false,  saved  the  honour  of  the  police.  It  was  accepted 
eagerly,  and  the  affair  was  entered  in  the  register,  to  the 
great  content  of  all  the  authorities,  prefects,  mayors,  and 
magistrates  of  the  Eastern  district,  who  for  two  years  had 
been  robbed  of  their  sleep  by  it.^ 

Drouet,  however,  was  not  dead.     He  had  remained  hidden 
in  Paris  until  the  end  of  1815,  and  had  obtained  possession  of 
the  passport  and  of  a  copy  of  the  baptismal  certificate  of  a 
certain  Nicolas  Severin  Maergesse,  a  mechanic  who  like  him- 
self was  bom  at  Sainte-Menehould,  but  of  Liegois  parents. 
Furnished  with  these  references  and  disguised  as  a  carter, 
Drouet  went  to  Saint-Denis,  where  he  hired  himself  out  as  an 
ostler  to  an  undertaker  of  military  funerals,  and  while  there 
he  engaged  himself  as  a  master  gaiter-maker — for  he  knew  all 
trades — in  the  service  of  the]Legion  of  the  Hautes  Alpes,  with 
whom   he   started   for   Brian9on.     At  the  end  of  eighteen 
months  the  fictitious  Maergesse,  feeling  sure  that  he  was  now 
secure  from  suspicion,  sent  in  his  resignation  and  settled  down 
at   Ma9on  with  a  German  woman  who  passed  as  his  wife. 
This  was   none    other   than  Christine  Mencke,  a  native  of 
Creuznach,  the  lawful  spouse  of  Dr.  Normand,  who  was  at 
that  time  hunting  for  her  in  all  the  villages  of  the  district  of 
Sainte-Menehould.     Christine  in  1817  was  forty  years  old ; 
she  was  clumsy  and  ugly,  and  a  very  strong  German  accent 
made  her  conversation  nearly  unintelligible.^ 

Monsieur  and  Madame  Maergesse  settled  first  in  the  house 
of  a  certain  Sieur  Violet,  a  tanner,  on  the  Quai  de  la  Saone, 
and  afterwards  hired  a  lodging  at  No.  23  Rue  Municipale, 
in  the  house  of  Sieur  Louis  Thibert.  Maergesse  was  not 
communicative.  He  had  described  himself  as  a  "  mechanic 
and  distiller,"  and  accordingly  in  March  1817  he  established 
at  Chamay,  in  partnership  with  Sieur  Dumoulin,  a  distillery 
for  manufacturing  alcohol  from  vine-shoots,  which  only 
worked  for  six  months — precisely  the  length  of  time  necessary 
for  Maergesse  to  obtain  a  certificate  of  residence  from  the 

*  With  regard  to  this  search  see  Une\pampagne  policUre  sous  la  Restaura- 
tion,  by  Andr^  Lesorts,  keeper  of  the  records  of  La  Meuse.  Extract  from 
the  Transactions  of  the  Society  of  Letters,  Science,  and  Art,  of  Bar-le-Duc, 
3rd  Series,  Vol.  X. 

^  Natumal  Archives,  Fr.  6712. 

281 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

Mayor  of  Chamay,  on  the  strength  of  which  he  secured 
a  passport  for  the  country  round  Lyons  and  the  Jura.  In 
the  following  year  a  fresh  passport,  procured  by  presenting 
the  first,  enabled  him  to  undertake  a  second  journey,  to 
Bourg,  Cognac,  Lisieux,  Charleville,  and  Sevres. 

Returning  to  Ma9on,  Maergesse  resumed  his  isolated  life. 
He  saw  no  one  but  Goyon,  formerly  Mayor  of  the  town, 
but  now  removed  from  that  office,  once  an  ardent  patriot 
whom  all  Ma9on  had  known  by  the  nickname  of  Goyon-la- 
Nation.  In  1822  Goyon,  on  his  way  to  Lorraine,  passed 
through  Sainte-Menehould,  from  whence  he  brought  back 
to  his  friend  Maergesse  2000  francs.^  The  people  who 
made  it  their  business  to  know  everything  declared  that 
Maergesse  had  a  patron  in  Paris  who  often  sent  him  little 
sums  of  money.  And,  indeed,  it  was  not  hard  to  guess  that 
there  was  some  mystery  in  the  life  of  this  taciturn,  suspicious 
man,  who  avoided  all  social  gatherings  and  showed  himself 
as  seldom  as  possible.  He  was  regarded  as  "  a  survivor  of 
the  great  upheaval."  In  those  strange  days,  when  the  over- 
due accounts  of  the  Revolution  were  being  balanced,  there 
were  so  many  people  who  had  once  been  rich  and  were  now 
ashamed  of  their  poverty,  so  many  new  millionaires  embar- 
rassed by  their  riches,  so  many  emigres  out  of  their  element  in 
the  France  they  had  left  twenty  years  before,  and  unrecognisable 
to  all  alike,  whether  victors  or  vanquished,  that  either  from 
respect  for  undeserved  sorrows,  or  from  indifference  to 
misfortunes  that  were  only  too  common,  very  little  attention 
was  paid  to  the  case  of  an  unknown  man  who  kept  quiet  and 
claimed  nothing. 

Maergesse  therefore  did  not  excite  curiosity  for  long. 
This  lame  man  with  the  cunning  eyes  and  tangled  hair, 
without  relations  and  without  ambition,  was  evidently 
some  one  quite  ordinary.  His  wife  made  plain  pastry,  which 
she  retailed  at  the  window  of  the  ground-floor,  and  sold  to 
the  housewives  of  the  quarter.  Every  morning  at  his  doorway 
Maergesse  split  the  wood  into  sticks  and  diluted  the  paste 
for  the  waffles.  Who  would  have  suspected  that  this  resigned 
creature,  so  humble  in  appearance  and  so  bent  in  the  back, 
1  National  Archives,  Fr.  6712. 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF   DROUET 

was  the  fiery  Conventionist  whose  romantic  epic  had 
staggered  the  world  ? 

And  he  himself — what  did  he  think  ?  What  did  he  expect 
of  the  future?  Did  he  not  look  for  some  new  turn  of 
fortune*'s  wheel  ?  As  he  was  afraid  of  appearing  anywhere, 
and  of  compromising  himself,  he  took  in  no  papers  and  never 
went  to  a  cafe.  He  was  therefore  dependent  on  the  gossip  of 
his  neighbours,  and  knew  nothing  of  politics ;  his  hungry 
imagination,  having  nothing  to  feed  itself  upon  and  being 
overwrought  from  its  long  fast,  created  disasters  and  dreamt 
of  impossibilities.  He  was  one  of  those — and  they  were  many 
at  that  time — who,  every  night  as  they  went  to  sleep,  said  to 
themselves,  "  It  will  be  to-morrow, '"'  confident  that  the  day- 
light would  bring  them  the  news  of  the  fall  of  the  Bourbons 
and  the  retaliation  of  the  proscribed  party.  What  depths  of 
anxiety  must  have  been  hidden  in  the  commonplace  question. 
What  news  ?  which  he  asked  every  morning  in  his  indifferent 
voice  of  the  neighbours  he  met  on  the  stairs  or  of  the  clients 
of  Madame  Maergesse. 

By  dint  of  much  scheming  he  succeeded  in  making  acquaint- 
ance with  the  valet  of  an  aged  gentleman  whose  house  was  but 
a  few  steps  distant  from  his  own  shop.  He  heard  that  this 
old  man'*s  sight  was  very  weak,  and  the  idea  occurred  to  him 
"to  get  himself  recommended  as  a  good  reader.*"  The 
ci-devant  sent  for  Maergesse,  took  him  on  trial,  and  finally 
engaged  him.  Drouet  at  last  saw  the  daily  papers.^  Every 
day  he  went  to  read  the  Qiwtidienne  and  the  Gazette  de  France 
to  the  old  royalist,  for  none  but  the  ultra- white  journals 
were  allowed  to  come  near  this  gentleman,  who,  when  he  had 
been  gratified  by  hearing  at  length  of  the  smallest  actions  and 
movements  of  the  august  family  and  of  the  ceremonies  of  the 
Court,  asked  again  and  again  for  the  eloquent  diatribes  which 
Martainville  and  Genoude  launched  against  the  pestilential 
brood  to  whom  France  owed  all  her  troubles. 

By  means  of  patient  stratagem  and  constant  concession 
Drouet-Maergesse  persuaded  the  old  noble  that  it  would  after 
all  be  very  edifying  to  hear  the  pitiful  answers  of  the  revolu- 

1  Notts  HistoriqueSi  by  Marc-Antoine  Baudot,  ex-member  of  the  National 
Convention. 

283 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

tionists  to  these  thunders  of  anathema,  and  in  this  way  he  led 
the  inveterate  legitimist  to  take  in  the  Constitutional  and  the 
Minerve.  Thus  the  outlaw  was  enabled  to  regale  himself 
with  the  refreshing  prose  of  the  liberal  journals,  at  the  same 
time  taking  every  care  to  hide  his  enjoyment.  For  as  soon 
as  they  had  been  read  the  determined  royalist,  who  lost  his 
temper  with  great  regularity,  insisted  on  the  papers  being 
destroyed  in  his  presence,  lest  the  poisonous  infection  should 
contaminate  minds  that  were  less  proof  against  it  than  his 
own.  And  thus,  with  the  hands  that  stopped  the  royal 
carriage  and  hurled  the  monarchy  to  destruction,  the  regicide 
was  obliged  to  bum,  in  the  very  presence  of  a  gloating 
ci-devant,  the  papers  that  seemed  to  him  to  be  the  last — and 
very  feeble — breath  of  the  Revolution  to  which  he  had  sacri- 
ficed his  life. 

A  wise  man  once  advised  those  who  disbelieved  in  God  to 
make  a  detailed  study  of  His  action  in  the  narrow  sphere  of 
an  individual  life,  where  undeniable  evidence  of  His  existence 
at  once  becomes  obvious.  The  case  of  Drouet  supports  the 
view  of  this  philosopher,  for  chance  alone,  excellent  dramatist 
though  it  be,  is  incapable  of  devising  such  a  punishment  as 
this,  ingeniously  combining  as  it  does  the  sublime  and  the 
ridiculous. 

The  old  nobleman,  like  many  another,  instinctively 
abhorred  the  Revolution,  because  it  had  been  "  effected  with- 
out sufficient  grounds,*"  and  had  "  upset  many  customs.""  No 
doubt  Maergesse  was  often  obliged  silently  to  endure  his  im- 
precations against  the  "author  of  all  our  ills'" — "the 
audacious  bandit,  the  infamous  Drouet,"*'  whose  crime  had 
brought  so  many  disasters  in  its  train.  One  day,  when  the 
royalisfs  tone  had  been  more  bitter  than  usual,  the  pride  of 
Maergesse  rose  in  revolt,  and  he  let  slip  the  words,  "  Never- 
theless, he  broke  up  the  ground.''''  Then,  as  the  old  man 
pricked  up  his  ears,  he  again  assumed  his  humble  manner  and 
gave  a  fresh  turn  to  the  conversation  by  saying  "  that  he  had 
been  a  gardener,  and  had  even  taken  lessons  from  a  famous 
English  landscape  gardener.""  The  old  seigneur.,  whose 
favourite  dreams  were  of  lawns  and  romantic  plantations,  in- 
stalled his  reader  in  his  country  house.     Drouet  had  travelled 

284 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  DROUET 

much  and  seen  many  things  :  he  planted  groves,  scooped  out 
dry  river-beds,  and  raised  little  hills  two  feet  high,^  in  return 
for  which  he  was  well  lodged,  well  fed,  sheltered  from  all  in- 
trusion, and  certain  of  a  peaceful  future — which  others 
perhaps  would  have  declined  on  the  same  terms.  If  he  had 
been  a  proud  man  he  would  often  have  thought  of  those  of 
his  colleagues  who  were  living  in  exile,  with  a  proud  look  and 
an  empty  stomach,  carrying  themselves  haughtily  under  the 
blighted  name  of  regicide. 

When  the  winter  came  Maergesse  returned  to  the  town. 
The  defeat  of  the  Spanish  Cortes  distressed  him  so  much  that 
he  fell  ill.  It  is  plain  that  if  his  real  name  was  unknown  to 
the  authorities  he  had  nevertheless  revealed  it  to  a  few 
intimate  friends,  for  in  February  1824  a  certain  Madame 
Chaledon  wrote  to  Madame  Husson,  a  sister  of  the  Conven- 
tionist,  who  had  come  from  Sainte-Menehould  during  the 
preceding  year  to  spend  a  few  days  at  Ma9on :  "  Your 
brother  has  been  ill  for  a  week.  The  doctor  told  us  that  he 
did  not  consider  him  to  be  out  of  danger.  He  is  at  present 
very  weak,  but  the  state  of  his  stomach  is  good.  I  heard  him 
say  that  he  did  not  wish  any  member  of  his  family  to  be 
told  of  it  except  yourself." 

Two  months  later,  in  the  afternoon  of  the  11th  of  April, 
the  woman  Maergesse  appeared  at  the  Mairie.  She  stated 
that  Maergesse  had  died  at  ten  o'clock  that  morning,  and  that 
he  had  charged  her  to  reveal  that  his  name  was  not 
Maergesse  but  Drauet,  and  that  he  was  the  regicide  who  had 
been  so  long  sought  by  the  whole  police  force  of  the  kingdom. 
The  poor  womaii'^s  distress,  combined  with  her  accent, 
resulted  in  a  wild  document  being  drawn  up  in  which  the 
former  Conventionist  was  described  as  Jean  Baptiste  Trmie, 
native  of  Merioue.^ 

Much  as  the  authorities  would  have  liked  to  blind  them- 
selves to  the  fact,  they  were  forced  to  recognise  that  the  man 
in  question  was  really  the  ex-Conventionist  and  regicide, 
and  that  he  had  eluded  their  vigilance  to  the  end.  The 
gentleman  whose  reader  he  had  been  nearly  died  of  shock  and 
horror.     The  letters  that  passed  between  the  prefect  and  the 

1  Baudot's  Notes  Historiques.  ^  National  ArchiveSy  F7,  6712. 

285 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

Minister  are  almost  comic,  so  great  was  the  disappointment 
on  both  sides  that  the  "  infamous  Drouet "  should  have 
carried  his  insolence  to  the  point  of  dying  unpunished.  It  is 
even  said  that  a  thought  was  entertained  of  wreaking 
vengeance  on  the  corpse  ;  but  the  wrath  of  the  most  zealous 
was  assuaged  more  or  less  by  harassing  Goyon-la-Nation  a 
little — though  he  swore  by  all  his  gods  that  he  had  never 
known  the  real  name  of  his  friend — and  by  catching  at 
Sainte-Menehould  the  woman  Normand,  formerly  Maergesse, 
who  was  kept  in  close  confinement  for  several  days.  She  was 
given  her  liberty  on  confessing  that  all  Drouefs  papers  were 
at  the  house  of  a  Madame  Grouillet,  whose  address  she  did 
not  know,  but  who  lived  somewhere  between  Paris  and 
Versailles.  A  fresh  search  followed,  which  lasted  for  two 
months.  It  was  fated  that  Drouet,  even  after  his  death, 
should  baffle  the  ingenuity  of  the  police.  When  they 
succeeded  in  discovering  Madame  Grouillet  at  No.  1  Rue  du 
Grand  Montreuil  they  learnt  that  one  of  the  Conventionist's 
nephews,  Louis  Vauthiers,  a  captain  of  artillery  quartered  at 
Vincennes,  had  already  visited  her  and  had  carried  off  all  the 
papers,  which  he  had  hidden  in  a  safe  place.^  They  included 
Drouefs  correspondence  from  the  beginning  of  his  public 
career — a  correspondence  that  was  both  copious  and  valuable 
for  reference.  These  papers,  it  is  declared,  have  not  been 
destroyed. 

1  Naticmal  Archives,  F7,  6712. 


286 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE    FATE    OF   FERSEN 

At  Bondy,  as  day  was  breaking  at  three  o'clock  in  the 
morning  ^  of  the  21st  of  June,  the  Comte  de  Fersen  watched 
the  royal  berline  rolling  away  on  the  road  to  Metz.  His 
part  was  played.  After  so  many  days  of  agitation,  after  the 
last  few  feverish  hours,  he  found  himself  standing  before  the 
posting-house,  alone  with  his  coachman  Balthazar  Sapel. 
The  morning  was  cool ;  the  day  promised  to  be  fine. 

Balthazar,  who  was  holding  the  Count's  five  horses,  of 
which  one  had  carried  Valory  and  the  four  others  had  drawn 
the  berline,  "  asked  his  master  for  orders "  ;  upon  which 
Fersen  told  him  "  to  go  to  Valenciennes,  to  the  barracks  of 
the  Royal  Swedes."  The  Count  then  asked  for  the  horse 
that  had  carried  Valory,  sprang  into  the  saddle,  and  prepared 
to  ride  away.  Balthazar  ventured  to  demur,  pointing  out 
that  he  had  no  passport. 

"  If  you  mention  the  name  of  the  Comte  de  Fersen,  Colonel- 
Proprietaire  of  the  Royal  Swedes,  you  will  be  able  to  travel 
without  being  stopped."  ^ 

Then  he  added  that  as  he  went  through  Le  Bourget, 
Balthazar  would  find  there  the  hoi-se  that  he,  Fersen,  was  then 
riding,  and  that  he  might  sell  it,  as  well  as  one  of  the  four — 
the  black — that  had  drawn  the  berline.  By  doing  this 
he  would  only  have  three  to  take  back  to  the  regiment,  and 
would  by  this  means  obtain  some  money — five  or  six  hundred 

1  Fersen  writes  in  his  journal :  *•  At  half  past  one  at  Bondy,  at  three 
o'clock  at  Le  Bourget."  He  is  at  variance  by  at  least  half  an  hour  with 
the  depositions  of  the  other  actors  in  the  flight. 

^  Deposition  of  Balthazar  SapeL— Bimbenet,  Pieces  Justijicatives,  p.  60. 

287 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

livres — "  which  he  might  keep  in  part  payment  of  his  wages, 
while  awaiting  a  settlement." 

Fersen,  having  given  these  instructions,  started  off  at  a 
trot  in  the  direction  of  Le  Bourget,  which  was  the  first 
stopping-place  on  the  road  to  Valenciennes.  In  spite  of 
the  agonies  he  was  no  doubt  enduring  in  his  anxiety  to  know 
whether  the  King''s  departure  were  as  yet  discovered,  the 
Swedish  nobleman  thought  it  more  prudent  not  to  return  to 
Paris.  In  less  than  an  hour  and  a  half  he  reached  Le  Bourget. 
procured  a  carriage,  and  went  on,  leaving  his  steed  in  the 
stables,  to  be  found  there  an  hour  later  by  Balthazar,  who 
had  come  across  country  with  his  four  horses. 

The  road  that  Fersen  now  followed  was  one  of  the  best  in 
France,  and  was,  moreover,  familiar  to  him.  At  eight  o'clock 
in  the  morning  he  was  at  Senlis,  at  midday  he  reached 
Compiegne;  at  about  two  o''clock  he  changed  horses  at 
Noyon,  and  two  hours  later  at  Ham.  He  arrived  at  Saint- 
Quentin  before  six,  and  there  he  turned  into  a  by-road. 
Between  Maretz  and  Le  Cateau  he  met  with  a  check  : 
the  commandant  of  a  village  militia  stopped  his  carriage  and 
demanded  his  name.  "  I  was  alarmed,''  writes  Fersen.  He 
continued  his  journey,  however,  and  reached  Le  Cateau  with- 
out further  misadventure,  passed  through  Landrecies  and  the 
forest  of  Mormal  by  night,  and  changed  horses  at  Le 
Quesnoy  at  about  midnight.  It  was  very  cold.  In  order  to 
avoid  the  posting-house  at  Valenciennes,  where  he  was  known, 
he  took  the  road  to  Bavay,  the  last  French  posting-house 
being  not  then  in  that  town,  but  at  Saint  Waast.  By  six 
o'clock  in  the  morning  Fersen  was  at  Mons.^  At  that  precise 
moment  Bayon  and  Romeuf,  in  Sauce's  house  at  Varennes, 
were  presenting  to  the  King  the  decree  that  made  him  a 
prisoner. 

The  town  of  Mons,  where  a  number  of  French  had  taken 
refuge,  was  in  a  great  state  of  agitation.  During  the  night 
the  King's  brother  Monsieur  had  arrived,  and  also  Madame, 
in  another  berline  and  by  a  different  route,  as  well  as  Madame 

^  Fersen's  journey  was  accomplished  even  more  slowly  than  that  of 
the  royal  family  ;  he  did  not  cover  more  than  two  and  a  half  leagues  an 
hour. 

^88 


THE  FATE   OF  FERSEN 

de  Balbi.  The  news  of  the  King^s  flight  had  been  quickly 
spread  by  them,  and  the  whole  community  of  emigres  was 
overjoyed.  "  Many  French  people  are  greatly  pleased,"" 
writes  Fersen.  "  A  monk  in  the  street  asked  me  if  the  King 
were  safe."  ^ 

By  this  time,  according  to  the  calculations,  the  royal 
family  should  have  been  in  safety  at  Montmedy,  and  Fersen 
was  anxious  to  join  them  without  delay.  Without  taking 
any  rest,  he  continued  his  drive  at  eleven  o'clock  in  the 
morning.  His  journal  is  very  laconic  here.  "  Level 
country  as  far  as  Namur,  then  mountains.  Everyone 
pleased  that  the  King  is  safe."*"* 

Fersen,  though  he  says  nothing  of  it,  must  have  slept 
at  one  of  the  posting-houses  on  the  road — at  Ciney  perhaps, 
ten  leagues  beyond  Namur — resuming  his  journey  on  the 
next  day,  the  23rd  of  June,  for  it  was  only  on  that  day 
that  he  reached  Arlon  at  eleven  in  the  evening.  At  the 
posting-house  he  came  upon  Bouille.  What!  Bouille  at 
Arlon?  Yes — the  King  is  taken.  Oh,  horror!  "There 
is  not  very  much  known  yet  as  to  details.  The  troops 
did  not  do  their  duty.  The  King  was  wanting  in  firmness 
and  presence  of  mind.     I  rested  there.""  ^ 

He  did  not  rest  for  long.  Having  reached  Arlon  a  little 
before  midnight,  he  left  it  again  at  half-past  four  in  the 
morning,   after   having  written    two   letters.^      He   records 

^  Here  are  two  notes  that  Fersen  wrote  at  Mons.  The  first  is  addressed 
to  his  father,  Field  Marshal  the  Comte  de  Fersen  :  **  Mons,  22,11(1  of  June^ 
6  o'clock  in  the  morning. — I  have  this  instant  arrived  here,  my  dear  father. 
The  King  and  his  whole  family  left  Paris  successfully  on  the  20th  at  mid- 
night. I  drove  them  as  far  as  the  first  posting- house.  God  grant  that  the 
rest  of  their  journey  may  be  equally  fortunate.  I  am  expecting  Monsieur 
here  every  moment.  I  shall  continue  my  journey  at  once  along  the  frontier, 
so  as  to  meet  the  King  at  MontmMy  if  he  is  fortunate  enough  to  get  there. 
—Axel  Fersen." 

The  second  note  was  to  the  Baron  de  Taube:  "  Mona,  22nd  June,  11 
&  clock  in  the  morning. — My  dear  friend,  the  King,  the  Queen,  Madame 
Elizabeth,  and  Madame  left  Paris  at  midnight  I  accompanied  them  as 
far  as  Bondy,  without  any  mishap.  I  am  off  this  moment  to  join  them. — 
Axel  Fersen." — Le  Comte  de  Fersen  et  la  Cour  de  France,  Vol.  I.,   p.  189. 

2  Fersen's  Journal. — Le  Comte  de  Fersen,  etc.  Vol.  I.,  p.  3. 

'  The  first  was  to  the  King  of  Sweden  :  *'23rrf  Jnne  midnight.  Sire, — 
everything  has  failed.  Sixteen  leagues  from  the  frontier  the  King  was 
arrested  and  taken  back  to  Paris.  I  am  going  to  see  M.  do  Mercy.  .  .  . 
etc."  The  other  was  to  his  father  :  *'  Arlon,  2Srd  June,  1791,  midnight. — 
All  is  lost,  my  dear  father,  and  I  am  in  despair.     The  King  was  arrested 

289  II 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

that  all  along  the  road  "  everyone  is  sorry  that  the  King 
is  taken."  He  is  "horribly  sad.""  He  thinks  bitterly  how 
happy  he  would  be  at  that  moment  if  he  had  saved  them  ; 
and  then  there  falls  from  his  pen — usually  so  sober  in 
expression — that  poignant  word  in  which  every  disappointed 
soul  recalls  its  vanished  dream  :  "  How  different !  "*' 

At  Namur,  where  he  arrived  at  midnight,  he  met  Monsieur. 
He  secured  a  brief  interview  with  Louis  XVFs  brother,  and 
then  started  again.  By  one  o''clock  in  the  morning  he  was 
on  the  road,  and  reached  Brussels  at  two  in  the  afternoon. 
For  five  nights  and  four  days  he  had  been  driving  without 
intermission,  but  no  matter ;  he  had  no  thought  for  his  own 
fatigue ;  he  took  no  rest,  but  hurried  to  see  Mercy,  to  the 
Hotel  Bellevue,  to  the  Comte  d'^Artois,  to  the  Archduchess. 
"  There  is  no  sort  of  order  here ;  they  all  behave  like  lunatics; 
a  thousand  false  rumours.""  It  was  only  on  the  28th  that  he 
obtained  some  reliable  information.  "  News  from  Paris — 
the  King's  return.  Barnave  and  Petion  in  the  carriage. 
Horrible  !     No  cheers.**' 

It  was  not  till  the  first  days  of  July  that  this  line  from 
the  Queen  reached  him  :  "  Do  not  be  uneasy  about  us.  We 
are  alive.  .  .  .""  And  on  the  next  day  there  came  another, 
dated  June  29th.  "  I  am  alive  .  .  .  how  unhappy  I  have 
been  about  you,  and  how  I  pity  you  for  all  that  you  are 
suffering  on  account  of  having  no  news  of  us  !  Heaven  grant 
that  this  may  reach  you.  Do  not  write  to  me  ;  that  would 
be  dangerous  to  us,  and  above  all  do  not  come  here  on  any 
account.  It  is  known  that  it  was  you  who  helped  us  to 
escape  from  here;  everything  will  be  lost  if  you  appear. 
We  are  watched  day  and  night,  but  it  makes  no  difference 
to  me.  ...  Be  easy  in  your  mind;  nothing  will  happen 
to  me.  The  Assembly  wishes  to  treat  us  kindly.  Farewell 
...  I  shall  not  be  able  to  write  to  you  again.  .  .  .'"'  ^ 

at  Varennes,  sixteen  leagues  from  the  frontier.  Imagine  my  misery,  and 
pity  me.  It  was  M.  de  Bouille,  who  is  here,  who  told  me  this  news.  I  am 
starting  this  moment  to  take  the  letter  and  orders  with  which  the  King 
entrusted  me  to  the  Corate  de  Mercy  at  Brussels.  I  have  only  time  to 
assure  you  of  my  respect  and  love. — Axel  Fersen." — Le  Comte  de  Fersen  et 
la  Cour  de  France,  Vol.  I. ,  p.  140. 

^  The  dots  indicate  words  carefully  erased  by  Fersen. — Le  Comte  de 
Ferseiiy  Vol.  I.,  p.  152. 

^90 


THE  FATE   OF  FERSEN 

He  saw  her  once  more,  however,  seven  months  later,  in 
February  of  the  following  year.  He  succeeded  in  making 
his  way  into  Paris  under  a  false  name,  in  a  courier'*s  coat, 
with  a  great  peruke  upon  his  head,  and  slipped  into  the 
Queen''s  apartments  "by  his  ordinaiy  way.""  He  returned 
the  next  day,  and  again  the  day  after.  But  no  record 
can  compare  in  value  with  the  rapid  notes  in  his  diary, 
and  nothing  can  be  added  to  the  words  in  which  the  warmth 
of  his  emotion  can  still  be  felt. 

"  Saturday^  February  Wth^  1792. — I  started  at  half  past 
nine  in  a  courier'^s  chaise  with  Reutersvaerd,  without  a  ser- 
vant. We  had  a  courier'*s  passport  for  Portugal,  under  fic- 
titious names,  the  letters  and  the  memorial  from  the  King 
[of  Sweden]  to  the  King  of  France,  addressed  to  the  Queen  of 
Portugal,  which  I  had  put  into  an  envelope  of  the  Swedish 
Ambassador  at  Paris  with  a  false  monogram  counterfeiting 
the  King''s  signature,  and  another,  also  counterfeited,  to  Berg- 
stadt,  the  charge  cTaffaires^  signed  Franc ;  the  whole  fastened 
with  a  seal  bearing  the  arms  of  Sweden,  made  here.  I  had 
also,  for  my  own  security,  a  letter  of  credence  as  Minister  to 
the  Queen  of  Portugal. 

"  Monday^  \^th. — Very  fine  and  mild.  Started  at  half  past 
nine.  Stopped  for  two  hours  at  Louvres  to  dine.  Arrived 
without  mishap  at  Paris  at  half  past  five  in  the  evening,  with- 
out anything  being  said  to  us.  I  set  down  my  officer  at  the 
Hotel  des  Princes,  Rue  de  Richelieu.  Took  a  cab  to  Gogue- 
lafs  house  in  the  Rue  Pelletier.  The  cab  did  not  know  the 
street.  Feared  should  not  be  able  to  find  it.  Another  cab 
pointed  it  out  to  us.  Gog  was  not  at  home.  Waited  in  the 
street  till  half  past  six.  Did  not  come.  I  became  uneasy. 
Wished  to  join  Reutersvaerd.  He  had  not  been  able  to  get 
a  room  at  the  Hotel  des  Princes  ;  they  did  not  know  where 
he  had  gone.  Returned  to  Gog''s  house :  not  in  yet.  Made 
up  my  mind  to  wait  in  the  street.  He  arrived  at  last  at 
seven  o'clock.  My  letter  had  only  arrived  the  same  day  at 
midday,  and  they  had  not  been  able  to  find  him  earlier. 
Went  to  the  Queen  ;  passed  in  by  my  ordinary  way ;  afraid 
of  national  guards  ;  did  not  see  the  King. 

"  Tuesday y  \^ih, — Very  fine  and  mild.     Saw  the  King  at  six 

^1  u  2 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

o'clock  in  the  evening.  He  will  not  go  away,  and  indeed  can- 
not, because  of  the  extreme  vigilance  ;  but  it  is  perfectly  true 
that  he  is  too  scrupulous  to  do  so,  having  promised  so  often 
to  remain  here,  for  he  is  a  good  fellow. 

"  Mile,  de  Rocherette  was  Gouvion's  mistress,  and  told  him 
everything.  She  only  had  suspicions.  Being  questioned  the 
day  after  the  escape,  she  said  horrible  things  about  the  Queen. 
Being  asked  if  she  had  not  heard  footsteps  going  through 
that  door,  and  if  she  had  not  been  afraid  to  stay  still  and 
warn  no  one — she  said  that  she  heard  footsteps  there  so  often 
after  the  King  had  gone  to  bed  that  they  did  not  strike  her 
as  anything  out  of  the  way.  For  some  time  the  guard  had 
often  been  tripled,  and  was  so  on  that  day  the  20th  of  June, 
after  dinner.  M.  de  Valori,  who  had  been  told  in  the  morn- 
ing that  he  was  to  be  sent  as  a  courier  with  his  two  comrades, 
told   Mademoiselle  his  mistress,  who  was   also   mistress   of 

M. ,  a  violent  revolutionist.  In  passing  through  the  Grand 

Carrousel  the  Queen  sent  M.  de ,  who  was  with  her  and  did 

not  know  the  way  to  the  Petit  Carrousel,  to  ask  the  sentry 
of  the  mounted  guard  where  it  was.  At  Chalons  they  were 
recognised  :  a  man  informed  the  Mayor,  who  took  the  line  of 
telling  him  that  if  he  were  certain  of  the  facts  he  had  only  to 
publish  them,  but  that  he  would  be  responsible  for  the  conse- 
quences. The  bodyguards  were  good  for  nothing.  On  the 
return  journey  M.  de  Dampierre,  who  had  come  to  see  the 
royal  family,  gave  his  arm  to  one  of  the  Dauphin's  waiting- 
women  to  help  her  into  the  carriage.  She  warned  him  to  go 
away,  as  the  people  would  be  angry.  He  said  no.  He  mounted 
his  horse,  and  fifty  paces  farther  on  he  was  shot  on  the 
plain  like  a  rabbit :  when  he  had  fallen  from  his  horse  they 
killed  him,  and  came  back  to  their  carriage  with  their  hands 
covered  with  blood,  carrying  his  head.  The  Queen  gave  a 
piece  of  beef  a  la  mode,  which  I  had  put  into  the  carriage,  to 
a  man ;  a  voice  said,  '  Don't  eat  it.  Don't  you  see  they  want 
to  poison  you  ? '  She  ate  some  of  it  at  once,  and  gave  some 
to  M.  le  Dauphin.  La  Tour-Maubourg  and  Barnave  very 
well  behaved  :  Petion  indecent.  The  first  would  never  drive 
in  the  King's  carriage :  he  said  that  the  King  could  rely  upon 
him,  but  that  it  would  be  interesting  to  win  the  others  over. 

292 


THE   FATE   OF  FERSEN 

"  Mile.  Rocherette  was  Gouvion''s  mistress,  and  told  him 
everything.  Several  times  before  the  flight  she  had  searched  the 
Queen's  pocket-book.  They  were  from  six  o'clock  in  the 
morning  until  seven  in  the  evening,  from  Meaux  to  the 
Tuileries,  without  daring  to  lower  the  blinds  or  the  shutters. 
For  six  weeks  there  were  always  some  officers  in  the  next 
room.  They  wished  to  sleep  in  the  Queen's  room.  The  most  she 
could  secure  was  that  they  should  stay  between  the  two  doors ; 
two  or  three  times  they  came  in  the  night  to  see  if  she  were 
in  her  bed.  On  one  occasion  when  she  could  not  sleep  and 
had  lit  her  lamp  the  officer  came  in  and  began  a  conversation 
with  her.  There  was  a  camp  outside  the  windows,  which  made 
the  place  into  a  pandemonium.  All  through  the  night  the 
officers  in  the  room  relieved  each  other  every  two  hours. 

"  Wednesday^  ^2nd. — We  passed  Senlis  at  half  past  three 
without  difficulty.  At  Pons,  although  the  national  guards 
were  already  afoot,  no  one  said  anything  to  us.  We  break- 
fasted at  half  past  eight  at  Groumai :  it  snowed  there  fairly 
hard  for  an  hour ;  afterwards  it  was  fine  and  cold.  Mean- 
while we  were  much  delayed  by  the  slipperiness.  We  arrived 
at  Bon-Avis  at  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening  ;  we  supped  badly, 
and  slept  in  our  clothes  in  a  carter's  room. 

"  Thursday,  9J^d. — Fine  ;  very  cold.  Started  at  half  past 
five ;  roads  shocking  as  far  as  Cambrai ;  stayed  there  an  hour 
and  a  half ;  the  postillions  would  not  ride  out  because  of  the 
roads,  and  the  postmaster  told  me  that  nowadays  he  could 
not  oblige  them  to  do  so.  At  last  we  found  one  who,  on 
consideration  of  the  lightness  of  the  carriage,  consented.  We 
got  past  Bouchain  all  right,  but  at  a  little  village  of  about 
ten  houses,  half  an  hour  beyond  Marchiennes,  I  was  awakened 
by  the  stopping  of  the  carriage  and  a  gentleman  asking 
Reuters vaerd  for  his  certificate.  I  pretended  to  be  asleep. 
After  having  read  the  paper  for  five  minutes  he  said  it  was 
worth  nothing  ;  that  the  words  upon  it  were  in  the  name  of  the 
King,  and  not  in  the  name  of  the  law,  which  meant  that  the 
law  was  superior  to  the  King ;  and  moreover  that  there  was 
no  description  upon  it,  and  it  was  no  good.  Reutersvaerd 
lost  his  temper  and  said,  '  But  it  is  the  Minister's  passport, 
and  he  must  know  how  they  ought  to  be  drawn  up,  and  our 

293 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

Minister  would  not  have  given  us  a  passport  if  it  were  not  in 
order.'     The  gentleman  said,  '  It  is  not  in  accordance  with 
the  model  we  have  here  ;  it  is  worthless.'     Then  the  postil- 
lion, seeing   the  courier's  badge,  said,    '  But,  Monsieur,  do 
you  not  see  that  these  gentlemen  are  couriers  ?     You  have  no 
power  to  stop  them.'     '  Assuredly,'  said  Reutersvaerd,  '  and 
Swedish  couriers,  moreover ;  that  is  in  the  passport,  and  this 
is  our  Minister's.'      The  fool  had  not  yet  discovered  that, 
and  when  he  saw  that  Reutersvaerd  was  becoming  civil  he 
became  impertinent.     After  a  second  reading  he  let  us  go  on. 
He  said  we  must  not  be  surprised  if  we  were  stopped  again  at 
Marchiennes ;  and  so  we  were,  at  the  only  gate  that  there  is 
to  go  in  by,  by  a  sentry  in  a  grey  jacket.     The  officer,  who 
was  in  an  old  brown  coat,  let  us  pass  after  we  had  told  him 
that  we  were  couriers  and  had  shown  him  our  passports.    We 
were  again  stopped  before  Orchies,  at  a  national  barrier  estab- 
lished with  the  object  of  searching  for  money.     The  people 
were  civil  and  made  no  inquiries.     At  Orchies,  which  is  a 
large  place,  they  said  nothing  to  us.    The  postillion  informed 
us  that  we  might  take  off  our  cockades.     A  league  beyond 
Orchies  we  were  out  of  France  ;  no  inquiries  were  made,  and 
we  were  only  too  glad  to  be  over  the  frontier.  By  four  o'clock 
we  were  at  Toumai,  where  we  dined  well,  and  in  the  same 
room  where  we  slept  on  our   way   into   France.     What   a 
difference ! " 

This  was  the  end :  Fersen  never  saw  the  Queen  of  France 
again.  He  continued  to  correspond  with  her,^  however, 
though  the  letters  were  almost  always  in  cipher.  "They 
were  sent  sometimes  by  a  safe  hand,  sometimes  in  a  box  of 
rusks,  or  in  a  parcel  of  tea  or  chocolate,  or  sewn  into  the 
lining  of  a  hat  or  an  article  of  clothing."     He  was  at  that 

^  Even  after  the  10th  August  he  was  kept  well  informed.  On  hearing  of 
the  fall  of  the  monarchy  he  writes  : — 

^^  Monday,  \Zth. — Terrible  news  from  Paris.  On  Thursday  morning  the 
palace  was  attacked,  and  the  King  and  Queen  took  refuge  in  the  Assembly ; 
at  one  o'clock  fighting  was  still  going  on  in  the  courts  and  in  the  Carrousel. 
Blood  was  running  in  streams,  many  were  killed  and  hanged,  the  palace  was 
bioken  into  in  all  directions,  eight  guns  were  pointed  at  it  and  fired. 
Romainvilliers  was  killed,  and  Daffy  too ;  a  thick  cloud  of  smoke  gave 
the  impression  that  the  palace  had  been  set  on  fire.  Mon  Dieu,  how 
horrible  ! " 

2m 


THE   FATE   OF  FERSEN 

time  working  out  a  scheme  for  descending  upon  Normandy  at 
the  head  of  a  body  of  Swedish  and  Russian  troops,  whom  he 
was  to  lead  to  Paris  with  a  view  to  rescuing  the  royal  family  and 
carrying  them  off  to  England.^  Even  the  death  of  Louis  XVI 
did  not  destroy  his  illusions.  In  April  1793  he  was  still 
prompting  the  august  widow  in  the  Temple,  in  his  old  tone 
of  affectionate  authority,  as  to  the  line  of  conduct  she  should 
pursue  when  Dumouriez's  army  took  possession  of  Paris  and 
proclaimed  her  Regent.  We  must  remember,  too,  the 
mysterious  way  in  which  he  was  kept  informed,  almost  daily ,2 

^  After  the  10th  August  his  anti-revolutionary  hatred  turned  to  fury  ;  a 
note  such  as  the  following  gives  some  idea  of  his  paroxysms  of  rage  : 
"  Asked  the  Baron  de  Breteuil  to  persuade  the  King  of  Prussia  to  tempt 
Lafayette  and  the  generals  to  come  over  with  their  armies,  to  dissolve  their 
armies  and  surrender  the  towns,  etc.  ;  to  have  Dillon  talked  to  about  sur- 
rendering Valenciennes  ;  to  have  the  Swiss  Guards  demanded  by  the  King 
of  Prussia  and  the  Emperor ;  to  give  Bouill6  unlimited  powers  in  the 
matter;  to  write  strongly  to  the  Comte d'Aranda. — 15th  August,  1792." 

2  It  will  not  be  inappropriate  at  this  point  to  quote  the  passages  from 
Fersen's  journal  regarding  Marie  Antoinette's  death. 

*'  Sunday,  Qth  Oct.,  1793.— An  Englishman  who  has  arrived  from  Switzer- 
land said  he  paid  2i5  louis  to  go  into  the  Queen's  prison  ;  he  carried  a 
pitcher  of  water  into  it.  It  is  underground,  and  there  is  nothing  in  it  but 
a  wretched  bed,  a  table,  and  a  chair.  He  found  the  Queen  sitting  down, 
leaning  her  face  upon  her  hands,  her  head  wrapped  up  in  two  handker- 
chiefs. She  was  extremely  badly  dressed.  She  did  not  even  look  at  him, 
and  he  said  nothing  to  her  ;  that  was  part  of  the  bargain.  What  horrible 
details  !     I  am  going  to  ascertain  the  truth. 

•'  Monday,  the  14/X.— There  was  not  a  word  of  truth  in  the  news  the  Comte 
de  Mettemich  had  told  us  the  day  before.  The  traveller  is  a  man  called 
Aubr^,  a  lawyer  in  this  town,  who  carries  on  commercial  transactions.  He 
had  just  come  from  Paris  with  some  things,  and  has  not  said  a  word  of  all 
that.  This  Aubr6  is  a  sort  of  Jacobin.  He  said,  on  the  contrary,  that  the 
Queen  was  not  ill-treated,  as  was  said  ;  that  her  room  was  as  good  as  it 
could  be  in  a  prison  ;  that  her  bed  was  of  iron,  with  print  curtains,  good 
mattresses,  and  the  necessary  coverings,  everything  being  very  clean  ;  that 
her  dinner  was  that  of  a  superior  hourgeoiae  when  convalescent  ;  that  when 
the  jailer  of  the  Conciergerie  had  been  removed  the  woman  who  waited 
upon  her  and  was  very  respectful  to  her  was  removed  also  ;  that  after  that 
the  Queen  did  not  wish  to  have  anyone  to  wait  on  her.  He  added  that  he 
could  have  saved  the  Queen  for  200,000  francs  that  had  been  oflFered  to  him, 
but  that  she  had  refused.  This  suggested  to  the  Baron  de  Breteuil  the 
idea  of  speaking  to  this  Aubrp,  and  promising  him  two  millions  for  the 
same  thing  if  he  succeeded.  I  approved  of  the  idea,  but  on  condition  that 
he  should  tell  us  his  methods,  so  that  we  might  make  sure  he  did  not  regard 
the  rescue  of  the  Queen  in  the  light  of  a  lottery-ticket,  and  would  not 
endanger  her  life  to  win  the  two  millions,  without  a  great  probability  of 
success." 

On  the  9th  October  Fersen  went  to  see  Drouet  in  prison,  and  questioned 
him  at  length  as  to  the  Queen's  position.  This  is  the  gist  of  his  answers  : 
'*  That  her  life  [the  Queen's]  is  absolutely  insecure  ;  that  if  the  Powers  are 
successful  and  march  upon  Paris  her  death  is  certain,  and  even  without 

295 


THE   FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

of  the  smallest  incidents  in  her  life  in  the  Temple.  "  The 
Queen  has   changed   very   little  .  .  .  the   Queen   is   having 

that  he  cannot  answer  for  her  life  ;  that  the  young  King  has  nothing  to  fear  ; 
that  there  are  nevertheless  some  people  who  are  savage  enough  to  wish  to 
kill  him,  but  if  that  happens  it  will  be  contrary  to  the  opinions  of  the 
greater  number  ;  that  the  Queen  will  be  held  answerable  for  his — Drouet's 
— life  ;  that  she  will  not,  however,  be  exchanged  for  him,  though  if  it  had 
been  proposed  in  time  the  Queen  and  her  family  would  have  been  given  in 
exchange  for  the  four  commissioners  surrendered  by  Dumouriez,  for  that 
had  been  decided  upon ;  that  the  Queen  was  not  at  all  ill-treated  ;  that  he 
had  visited  her  in  his  capacity  of  superintendent  at  the  Conciergerie  ;  that 
when  she  came  there  first  she  had  no  bed  but  a  wretched  pallet ;  that  find- 
ing her  with  a  cold  he  had  asked  her  the  cause  of  it,  and  she  had  said  it  was 
owing  to  the  dampness  of  her  prison,  which  was  a  room  on  the  lowest 
floor  ;  that  he  had  then  had  a  room  prepared  higher  up  and  had  installed 
her  in  it ;  that  he  had  seen  that  linen  and  everything  she  asked  for  was 
given  to  her  ;  that  he  had  a  good  bed  and  two  mattresses  brought  for  her, 
and  had  taken  every  trouble  and  had  every  possible  consideration  for  her. 
The  reasons  for  her  being  moved  and  her  apparent  ill-treatment  were 
merely  to  impose  upon  the  Powers ;  she  was  not,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  badly 
used  ;  she  had  everything  she  asked  for,  and  it  was  not  true  that  the  young 
King  had  been  put  upon  a  diet  of  black  bread. " 

^Sunday,  20th  October. — Grandmaison  came  to  tell  me  that  Ackerman,  a 
banker,  had  received  a  letter  from  his  correspondent  in  Paris,  informing 
him  that  the  Queen's  sentence  had  been  pronounced  on  the  previous  day,  and 
was  to  have  been  carried  out  instantly,  but  circumstances  had  delayed  it  ; 
that  the  people — that  is  to  say,  the  people  who  were  paid  to  do  so — began  to 
complain,  and  to  say  that  Marie  Antoinette  was  to  appear  at  the  ^^  national 
window  "  that  very  morning  !  Although  I  was  prepared  for  this,  and  have 
been  expecting  it  since  she  was  moved  to  the  Conciergerie,  the  certainty  of 
it  altogether  overwhelmed  me.  I  had  no  strength  left  for  any  feeling.  I 
went  out  to  talk  over  this  sorrow  with  my  friends  and  Madame  de  Fitz- 
James,  and  the  Baron  de  Breteuil,  whom  I  did  not  find  at  home  ;  I  wept 
with  them,  especially  with  Madame  de  Fitz James.  The  Gazette  of  the  17th 
speaks  of  it.  It  was  on  the  16th  at  half -past  eleven  that  this  execrable 
crime  was  committed,  and  yet  the  vengeance  of  Heaven  has  not  overtaken 
these  monsters  ! 

**  Monday,  2l8^, — I  could  think  of  nothing  but  my  loss,  etc. 

"  Wednesday,  23rd. — A  certain  Rougeville,  who  said  he  was  a  lieutenant- 
colonel  and  a  Kjiight  of  St.  Louis,  having  been  attached  to  Monsieur's 
household,  had  arrived  with  200  louis  in  his  pocket  and  some  very  good 
printed  papers,  of  which  he  said  he  was  the  author.  He  said  it  was  he  who 
had  wished  to  save  the  Queen,  and  that  he  was  charged  by  her  to  tell  the 
Emperor  that  if  he  received  any  papers  or  letters  signed  by  her  he  was  not 
to  believe  in  them.  The  man  was  secured,  and  it  seems  that  he  is  either  a 
carTnagnole  who  merely  wished  to  emigrate,  or  else  a  spy,  for  he  cannot 
name  anyone  who  would  answer  for  him.  This  evening  there  was  a 
memorial  service  at  the  castle  for  the  late  Queen. 

^'Monday,  the  I8th November. — I  went  to  see  M.  de  Rougeville.  The  man 
seems  to  be  a  little  crazy  and  very  much  pleased  with  himself  and  with 
what  he  has  done  ;  he  gives  himself  great  airs  of  importance,  but  his  inten- 
tions are  good,  and  he  is  no  spy.  Daubiez  and  he  know  each  other.  Madame 
de  Maill^  recognised  him  the  other  day  from  her  window  in  the  square  as  a 
certain  M.  de  Rougeville  who  spent  his  life  in  the  Queen's  ante-rooms  and 
followed  her  about  everywhere.     He  is  living  here  at  the  Hotel  de  Saxe- 

296 


THE  FATE  OF  FERSEN 

baths  ..."''';  and  further  on  :  "  The  prosecutor  of  the  Tribunal 
has  demanded  the  documents  accusing  the  Queen :  it  makes 

Teschen,  guarded  by  two  officers  who  accompany  him  when  he  goes  out. 
This  is  the  substance  of  what  he  told  me  as  to  his  last  adventure  in  the 
Conciergerie.  He  knows  Madame  de  Tilleul,  a  fairly  rich  and  well-affected 
American,  and  they  formed  the  project  of  saving  the  Queen.  Then  he 
made  the  acquaintance  of  a  worthy  man  called  Fontaine,  a  wood  merchant, 
and  through  him  of  Michonis,  the  keeper  of  a  coffee-house.  He  found  both 
of  them  very  willing.  Michonis  was  sincerely  devoted  to  the  Queen,  and 
refused  the  money  that  was  offered  him,  but  he  gave  some  to  the  two  other 
managers  (of  the  prison).  One  day  he  accompanied  Michonis  into  the 
prison.  The  Queen  rose  and  said,  *  Ah,  it  is  you,  M.  Michonis  ! '  and  on 
seeing  M.  de  Rougeville  was  extremely  overcome,  so  much  so  that  she  fell 
back  on  her  chair,  which  surprised  the  warders.  He  made  a  sign  to  reassure 
her,  and  told  her  to  take  the  bunch  of  pinks  in  which  the  note  was  hidden  ; 
she  dared  not,  and  he  dropped  them  without  being  able  to  speak  to  her. 
Michonis  went  out  to  see  about  some  business  in  the  prison,  and  he  went 
also.  The  Queen  then  sent  to  ask  Michonis  to  return,  took  care  that  he 
was  engaged  with  the  warders,  and  meantime  said  to  Rougeville  that  he 
was  exposing  himself  too  much.  He  told  her  to  take  courage,  for  she  was 
being  helped,  and  he  would  bring  her  some  money  with  which  to  bribe  the 
warders.  She  said  to  him,  *  If  1  am  feeble  and  broken  down,  this  [laying 
her  hand  on  her  heart]  is  not  so.'  She  asked  him  if  she  would  soon  be 
tried,  and  he  reassured  her.  She  said  to  him,  '  Look  at  me,  look  at  my 
bed,  and  tell  my  relatives  and  friends,  if  you  are  able  to  escape,  the  state 
in  which  you  have  seen  me.'  Then  they  went  out.  The  porter  and  his 
wife  were  won  over.  The  plan  was  that  Michonis,  who  had  taken  the 
Queen  from  the  Temple  to  the  Conciergerie,  should  go  at  ten  o'clock  at 
night  to  fetch  her,  by  order  of  the  municipality,  as  though  to  take  her  to 
the  Temple,  and  should  see  that  she  escaped.  In  this  way,  having  signed 
the  porter's  book  so  that  nothing  should  happen  to  him,  they  actually  went 
out ;  the  two  warders  said  nothing,  for  the  sake  of  the  fifty  louis,  but  the 
last  one  stood  out.  Michonis  told  him  that  he  had  the  orders  of  the  munici- 
pality, but  he  said  that  unless  Madame  was  taken  back  he  would  call  out 
the  guard.     The  attempt  had  failed,  and  Rougeville  fled. 

"Here  are  some  details  with  regard  to  the  Queen.  Her  room  was  the  third 
door  on  the  right  as  you  go  in,  opposite  Custine ;  it  was  on  the  ground 
floor,  with  the  window  overlooking  the  yard,  which  was  all  day  full  of 
prisoners,  who  looked  through  the  window  and  insulted  the  Queen.  The 
room  was  small,  damp,  and  fetid,  and  had  neither  stove  nor  chimney  ;  there 
were  three  beds  in  it,  one  for  the  Queen,  another  beside  hers  for  the  woman 
who  waited  on  her,  and  the  third  for  the  two  warders,  who  never  left  the 
room.  .  .  .  The  Queen's  bed,  like  those  of  the  others,  was  of  wood,  with  a 
jpalliasse,  a  mattress,  and  a  woollen  quilt,  dirty  and  full  of  holes,  which  had 
been  used  for  the  prisoners  for  a  long  time  ;  the  sheets  were  of  coarse  grey 
cotton  like  those  of  the  others,  and  there  were  no  curtains,  but  an  old 
screen.  The  Queen  was  dressed  in  a  black  jacket ;  her  hair,  cut  short  on 
her  forehead  and  also  at  the  back,  was  quite  grey  ;  she  had  grown  so  thin 
that  she  was  barely  recognisable,  and  so  weak  that  she  could  hardly  stand 
upright.  On  her  fingers  she  wore  three  plain  rings,  but  none  with  stones. 
The  woman  who  waited  on  her  was  a  sort  of  fishwife,  of  whom  she  com- 
plained very  much.  The  warders  told  Michonis  that  Madame  did  not  eat, 
and  that  if  she  continued  to  eat  so  little  she  could  not  live  ;  they  said  that 
her  food  was  very  bad,  and  showed  him  a  thin  chicken  that  was  almost 
decayed.      '  Here  is  a  chicken,^  they  said,  '  that  Madame  has  not  totiched, 

297 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

me  shudder  ..."";  and  finally  the  cry  of  pain  wrung  from 
him  by  the  execution  of  October  the  16th.  He  heard  of  it  on 
the  20th.  "  The  Gazette  of  the  17th  speaks  of  it,''  he  writes ; 
"it  was  half  past  eleven  that  this  execrable  crime  was 
committed.  And  yet  the  vengeance  of  Heaven  has  not  over- 
taken these  monsters !  I  have  no  strength  left  for  any 
feeling  ...  I  went  out  to  talk  over  this  sorrow  with  my 
friends  Madame  de  FitzJames  and  the  Baron  de  Breteuil.  I 
wept  with  them,  especially  with  Madame  de  FitzJames."" 

This  was  the  Madame  de  FitzJames  who  had  once,  in  the 
white  salons  of  the  Trianon,  rallied  him  so  audaciously  upon 
his  conquest !  The  entry  in  Fersen's  journal  for  the  following 
day  consists  of  these  words  only  : 

"  I  can  think  of  nothing  but  my  loss  :  it  is  fearful  to  have 
no  positive  details.  To  think  that  she  should  have  been 
alone  in  her  last  moments,  with  no  consolation,  no  one  to 
speak  to,  no  one  to  receive  her  last  wishes !  It  is  horrible. 
Monsters  of  Hell !  No,  my  heart  will  never  be  satisfied  with- 
out revenge." 

He  never  knew  that  in  the  letter  she  wrote  on  the  last  day, 
at  half  past  four  in  the  morning,  while  the  executioner  was 
awaiting  her,  the  Queen  had  penned,  on  the  sheet  of  paper 
that  still  bears  the  marks  of  her  tears,  these  words,  which  we 
may  surely  believe  to  contain  a  thought  for  the  man  who  had 
served  her  so  faithfully : 

"  I  had  friends  :  the  idea  of  being  separated  from  them  for 
ever,  and  of  their  sorrow,  are  among  the  greatest  regrets  that 
I  feel  in  dying :  I  would  have  them  know  at  least  that  up  to 
my  last  moments  I  was  thinking  of  them.  .  .  ."" 

The  nightmare  of  October  the  16th  never  ceased  to  haunt 
Fersen.  Almost  at  once  he  lost  all  interest  in  the  affairs  of 
France :  since  his  loss  his  memories  were  "  veiled  with  tears." 

and  that  his  been  put  before  her  for  the  last  four  days. '  The  warders  com- 
plained of  their  bed,  though  it  was  similar  to  the  Queen's.  The  Queen 
always  lay  down  altogether  dressed  in  black,  expecting  at  any  moment  to 
be  killed  or  led  to  the  scaffold,  and  wishing  to  go  thither  in  mourning. 
Rougeville  said  that  Michonis  wept  with  sorrow  about  it,  and  told  him  it 
was  quite  true  that  ....  when  he  had  to  go  to  the  Temple  to  fetch  the 
black  jacket  and  the  linen  that  was  necessary  for  the  Queen  he  was  not 
able  to  go  until  the  Council  had  held  a  meeting  about  it.  These  are  the 
sad  details  he  gave  me." — Le  CorrUe  de  Fersen,  Journal. 

298 


THE  FATE   OF  FERSEN 

He  never  married,  and  never  left  Sweden  again.  From  time 
to  time,  when  he  heard  of  the  triumphs  of  the  French  army, 
he  was  seized  with  a  frenzied  desire  to  avenge  the  dead  woman 
to  whom  he  was  always  faithful.  "  Oh,  that  I  had  armies  ! '''' 
he  wrote  in  1798,  "  armies  to  crush  this  vermin  with ! "  ^ 
Perhaps  it  is  to  this  undying  longing  for  revenge  that  we 
must  attribute  his  share  in  the  conspiracies  that  followed  the 
deposition  of  Gustave  IV  Adolphus,  and  the  death  of  the 
hereditary  Prince  Christian  Augustus  of  Augustenbourg. 
Fersen — such  at  least  is  the  tradition  firmly  believed  by  those 
who  bear  his  name  to-day — "  wished  to  be  King  in  his  turn, 
the  better  to  avenge  the  murdered  Queen.'*''  ^  This  sublime 
but  mad  ambition  was  his  undoing.  He  was  accused  of  com- 
passing the  death  of  the  Prince  Royal ;  the  calumny  appeared 
in  the  public  papers,  barely  veiled  under  the  form  of  an 
allegory ;  and  anonymous  letters,  which  were  circulated  in  the 
taverns,  roused  tJie  wrath  of  the  populace  against  him. 

It  was  known  beforehand  that  a  riot  would  break  out  on 
the  20th  of  June,  1810,  the  day  on  which  the  remains  of 
the  Prince  Royal  were  to  be  carried  to  Stockholm  in  a 
solemn  procession  and  deposited  in  the  Castle.  As  though 
some  mysterious  fate  were  persisting  tb  the  end  in  associating 
Fersen''s  life  with  the  memory  of  the  woman  he  had  loved, 
this  20th  of  June,  which  was  destined  to  be  the  day  of  his 
death,  was  the  anniversary  of  the  day  on  which,  nineteen  years 
before,  he  had  helped  the  royal  family  to  escape  from  Paris. 

At  eleven  o'*clock,  Fersen,  in  his  capacity  of  Grand  Marshal 
of  the  Court,  entered  the  gilded  coach  which  was  to  take  him  to 
meet  the  funeral  procession.  As  soon  as  he  appeared  furious 
cries  arose  ;  the  crowd,  ill  controlled  by  the  troops,  made  a  dash 
for  the  carriage  and  broke  the  windows  with  stones  ;  they  tore 
up  paving-stones  to  use  as  missiles ;  they  peppered  the  panels 
of  the  coach  with  showers  of  penny-pieces.  The  coachman 
rolled  from  his  seat,  his  forehead  streaming  with  blood. 

*  Communicated  by  a  member  of  Fersen's  family. 

*  "  Fersen  negotiated,  through  the  agency  of  one  of  his  suite  called 
Silfersward,  with  Vienna,  Berlin,  and  St.  Petersburg,  and  particularly 
with  the  English  Government,  to  make  sure  that  relations  would  remain  in 
statu  qtu)  supposing  that  the  Government  of  the  Prince  Begent  were  to  be 
modified  in  any  loay." — Same  source  of  information. 

299 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

At  the  end  of  the  Stora  Nygatan  (a  large  new  street), 
opposite  the  Maison  de  la  Noblesse,  at  the  moment  when 
the  escort  was  attempting  to  turn  to  the  right  towards  the 
Castle,  the  mob  barred  the  way  in  front  of  Fersen's  coach. 
The  horses  were  taken  out,  and  a  man  in  the  crowd  opened 
the  door  and  dragged  the  Count  from  the  carriage.  Fersen 
cleared  a  way  for  himself  with  his  fists,  dashed  into  a  house, 
rushed  up  the  stairs,  and  took  refuge  in  a  little  room 
adjoining  a  tap-room.  But  a  howling  mob  pursued  him : 
he  was  reviled  and  struck  ;  his  decorations,  his  cloak,  his 
sword,  were  torn  from  him,  flung  out  of  the  window,  and 
rent  in  pieces  by  the  people,  who  divided  the  fragments 
among  them.  Almost  immediately  afterwards  Fersen  himself 
appeared,  breathless  and  mangled,  his  face  covered  with 
blood.  A  man  had  pushed  him  down  the  stairs,  while  others 
awaited  him  in  the  street ;  the  enraged  crowd  received  him 
with  blows,  struck  him  with  sticks  and  umbrellas,  flung  bricks 
and  paving-stones  at  him.  They  seized  him  by  the  neck, 
they  tore  out  his  hair — his  white  hair.  They  dragged  him 
to  the  square,  where  a  battalion  of  the  guard  was  drawn  up 
with  ordered  arms,  and  looked  on  calmly  at  the  crime  ;  then 
he  was  hustled  to  the  town  hall,  and  there,  perhaps  by 
a  refinement  of  cruelty,  he  was  given  a  moment  of  respite. 

Witnesses  of  the  affair  have  told  how  they  saw  him  in 
a  lower  room,  seated  on  a  bench,  worn  out,  breathless, 
bleeding.  He  asked  for  a  glass  of  water,  which  was  brought 
to  him  by  a  soldier  of  the  city  guard.  But  soon  the  cries 
arose  again,  "  A  mort ! "  Fersen  was  borne  away  by  the 
surging  crowd,  carried  into  the  courtyard,  beaten  down, 
trampled  under  foot.  Then,  when  he  was  dead,  his  mur- 
derers fell  upon  his  body,  stripped  it,  dragged  it  along  the 
pavement,  naked,  mangled,  unrecognisable.  There,  with  his 
head  in  the  gutter,  they  left  le  beau  Fersen ;  and  it  was 
not  until  two  hours  later  that  some  soldiers  covered  him 
with  a  cloak  and  carried  him  to  the  guard-house  in  the 
neighbouring   square.^ 

^  Le  Comte  de  Fersen,  by  the  Baron  R.  M.  de  Klinckowstrom.  Introduc- 
tion. Account  given  in  the  trial  of  August  20,  1811,  before  the  High  Royal 
Court. 

300 


CHAPTER  XIV 

VARENNES  AFTER  THE  DRAMA 

Ten  thousand  men,^  all  crowded  into  Varennes,  had 
witnessed  the  departure  of  the  royal  family  at  about  seven 
o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  22nd.  About  a  quarter  of  this 
rustic  army  followed  the  captive  King,  and  were  watched  by 
the  others  as  they  marched  away  along  the  sunlit  road, 
surrounding  the  two  carriages  in  a  compact  mass.  When 
this  surging,  dusty  throng  had  disappeared  on  the  road  to 
Boureuilles,  Varennes  felt  quite  forsaken,  for  the  little  town, 
invaded  as  it  was  by  an  ever-growing  multitude  of  peasants, 
carrying  pitchforks,  pickaxes,  iron  bars,  and  even  hop-poles 
and  sticks,  was  bereft  of  all  its  municipal  officers,  who  had 
fared  forth  upon  the  Paris  road.  There  was  not  a  magistrate 
in  the  place,  not  a  single  "  notable " ;  anarchy  reigned 
supreme.^  Beyond  the  bridge,  among  the  vineyards,  some  of 
Bouille's  horsemen,  who  hastened  from  Monza  and  Dun,  were 
to  be  seen  waiting  for  the  main  body  of  the  army.  It  was 
known  that  the  attack  would  be  terrible,  the  "  repression  *" 
pitiless.  As  for  methods  of  defence,  there  were  none :  the 
barricade  on  the  bridge  had  ^been  strengthened  in  order  to 
defend  the  upper  town  during  the  first  onslaught,  but  it  was 
not  likely  that  an  improvised  fortification  of  this  kind  would 
stand  for  many  minutes  against  the  efforts  of  several 
regiments.  The  lower  quarter,  in  any  case,  was  exposed  to 
all  attacks  without  any  kind  of  protection,  and  the  inhabi- 

*  The  figures  are  given  by  Madame  Destez  in  a  letter  to  her  mother. — 
National  Archives,  D.  XXIXb  37. 

2  There  was  but  one  municipal  ofl&cer  who  did  not  accompany  the 
Varennois  who  escorted  the  King. — Remy's  Narrative. 

301 


THE   FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

tants  had  already  deserted  it,  having  crossed  the  river  to  the 
upper  town,  where  they  added  their  fears  and  lamentations 
to  those  of  the  throng  who  were  already  crowded  there. 

This  expectation  of  tragedy  had  an  irritating  effect  on  the 
temper  of  the  mob.  Amid  the  alarming  commotion  that  reigned 
in  the  only  street  of  the  town  there  appeared  a  few  of  Damas' 
dragoons — five  or  six  in  all — who,  after  being  hustled,  hooted 
at,  and  insulted,  were  taken  possession  of  by  the  peasants  as 
"hostages."  As  the  royal  berline,  in  leaving  Varennes, 
passed  in  front  of  the  town  hall,  Choiseul,  who  had  been 
walking  close  beside  the  door  of  the  carriage  ever  since  it  left 
Saucer's  shop,  jumped  into  the  saddle  and  prepared  to  take 
the  road  with  the  prisoners ;  but  his  horse  was  quickly 
surrounded  and  seized  by  the  bridle,  while  Choiseul  was 
dragged  to  the  ground,  rolled  over,  and  trampled  upon.^ 
With  their  shrewd  instinct,  the  peasants  appreciated  the 
importance  of  such  a  hostage :  the  significance  of  the  thing, 
though  it  was  by  no  means  a  concerted  plan,  was  quickly 
understood ;  an  impassable  wall  of  men  barricaded  the  streets, 
Damas  was  arrested,  so  also  were  Floirac,  the  lieutenant  of 
dragoons,  and  Remy,  the  non-commissioned  officer.^  Romeuf 
himself,  the  emissary  of  the  Assembly,  to  whom  Choiseurs 
groom  James  Brisack  had  just  lent  his  horse,  was  hemmed  in, 
seized,  and  pushed  towards  the  town  hall,  the  door  of  which 
closed  behind  him.  Thither  too,  Choiseul  and  Damas  and 
Floirac  were  dragged,  while  pitchforks  and  flails  were  waved 
menacingly  above  their  heads.  Only  Remy  succeeded  in 
breaking  away.  Springing  upon  his  horse,  he  rallied  his  five 
dragoons  round  him  and  drew  them  up  "  in  line,  with  their 
backs  to  the  town  hall  and  their  faces  towards  the  little 
square,  where  every  moment  detachments  were  arriving  from 
the  neighbouring  towns  and  villages."  ^  The  sixty  hussars  of 
the  detachment  quartered  at  Varennes,  the  sixty  hussars  who 
had  not  appeared  since  the  day  before,  now  came  on  the 
scene,  fraternising  with  the  mob,  passing  jugs  of  wine  from 
hand  to  hand,  and  drinking  "  to  the  nation."  * 

1  Choiseul's  Narrative. 

2  Narrative  of  James  Brisack,  appended  to  Choiseul's  Narrative. 

3  Rdmy's  Narrative.  *  R^my's  Narrative. 

302 


VARENNES   AFTER  THE   DRAMA 

At  about  ten  o'clock  ^  a  great  tumult  suddenly  arose,  a 
general  outcry  followed  by  a  rush  of  feet :  "  Here  is  Bouille  ! 
The  Royal  Germans  are  at  the  bridge  !  '**  The  tocsin  rang, 
the  drums  beat  to  arms.  The  crowd,  in  an  agony  of  distress, 
besought  the  hussars  to  "  go  and  reconnoitre  !  '**  A  mounted 
trumpeter  galloped  down  the  street,  which  cleared  suddenly 
before  him.^  But  fresh  cries  arose,  "  The  uhlans  are  coming 
in  by  the  other  way ! "'''  Then  the  trumpeter  passed  up  in 
the  other  direction,  galloping  towards  the  Clermont  road. 
Observers  perched  on  the  roofs  of  the  upper  town  were 
watching  the  movements  of  the  Royal  Germans  on  the  little 
hill  beyond  the  river.  Bouille's  soldiers  were  arriving  in 
increasing  numbers  by  the  road  from  Charpentry,  and  were 
pausing  at  the  brow  of  the  hill  that  dominates  the  river; 
they  were  seen  going  to  and  fro  on  their  weary  horses,  con- 
sulting together  and  making  their  plans,  while  still  there 
came  more  and  more  of  them,  all  in  disorder,  galloping  at 
random,  grey  with  dust  from  the  pace  of  their  ride. 

While  Varennes  was  expecting  a  merciless  onslaught, 
Bouille,  having  at  last  arrived  in  sight  of  the  "  rebel  town,'*'* 
was  gathering  his  officers  round  him.  Major  Deslon,^  who 
had  been  there  doing  nothing  since  daybreak,  with  fifty 
horsemen  who  had  hastened  from  Dun  at  the  first  news  of  the 
arrest,  informed  his  chief  of  the  course  of  events,  told  him  of 
the  impossibility  of  approaching  the  town,  "  defended  as  it 

^  **  About  two  hours  and  a  half  after  the  King's  departure,"  says 
Remy. 

2  "  A  trumpeter  galloped  to  the  spot :  all  was  confusion,  although  there 
were  not  many  people." — R^my. 

2  Charles  Georges  Calixte  d'Eslon  (Comte),  bom  at  Ramonchamp  in 
Lorraine  Oct.  14th,  1747  ;  enlisted  in  1760  in  the  legion  of  Conflans  ; 
captain  in  the  Lauzun  hussars  11th  Oct.,  1783  ;  major  on  the  12th  July, 
1789  ;  emigrated  22nd  June,  1791.     Went  through  the  campaigns  of  1792 


and  1800  in  Conde's  army  (Enghien's  regiment).  Received  till  Oct.  Ist, 
1814,  a  pension  from  his  Britannic  Majesty,  and  only  returned  to  France 
with  the  King.  He  then  begged,  in  the  following  terms,  for  the  rank  of 
brigadier-general :  ' '  The  smallest  mark  of  kindness  on  the  part  of  his 
Majesty  will  put  an  end  to  all  the  insulting  doubts  to  which  he  (Deslon) 
has  been  subjected  since  the  affair  of  the  22nd  June,  1791,  at  Varennes, 
when  he  had  the  misfortune  to  be  unable  to  save  his  King  in  spite  of  his 


zeal  and  activity,  having  left,  without  receiving  orders  to  that  eflFect,  the 
post  at  Dun  which  he  was  occupying  seven  leagues  farther  along  the 
frontier,  to  hasten  to  the  assistance  of  the  King."     D'Eslon  retired  in 


1815  to  Thann,  department  of  the  Haut  Rhin. — Archives   of  the    War 
Office, 

303 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

was  by  the  river  and  a  very  deep  canal "''' ;  ^  of  the  King''s 
departure,  and  of  how  he  had  been  dragged  away  on  the 
road  to  Paris  more  than  two  hours  before,  and  was  doubtless 
now  out  of  reach ;  of  the  rumour  that  the  inhabitants  of 
Verdun  were  on  the  march  "  with  some  guns  with  which  to 
support  the  Varennois.*"  Bouille,  however,  decided  that  the 
royal  berline  must  be  overtaken,  the  mob  that  escorted  it 
dispersed,  and  the  King  and  his  family  rescued;  but  his 
officers  pointed  out  that  it  was  impossible  to  push  on  any 
farther  "  without  giving  food  and  rest  to  the  horses,  which 
were  worn  out  by  a  forced  march  of  nine  leagues."  More- 
over, by  the  most  favourable  reckoning,  Bouille  had  but  four 
hundred  of  his  cavalry  there ;  the  rest  were  scattered  here  and 
there  along  the  route,  delayed  by  fatigue  and  the  bad  roads. 
Retreat  was  inevitable.  "  Never  shall  I  forget,"  wrote  one  of 
the  officers  present  at  this  consultation,  "  the  expression  of  pain 
that  convulsed  every  feature  in  M.  de  Bouille's  face;  never 
shall  I  forget  his  gentle,  piteous  words  of  distress,  as  he 
turned  to  me  and  said  simply,  in  a  sad  voice,  '  Well,  will 
you  ever  say  again  that  I  am  fortunate  ? '  *"  2 

They  turned  away  silently,  casting  one  last  look  at  that 
accursed  town  of  Varennes,  as  it  lay  there  so  calmly  beside 
the  fatal  river,  with  its  rows  of  flat  roofs  rising  one  above  the 
other  in  the  smiling  June  landscape ;  and  then  began  their 
sad  retreat,  the  melancholy  march  of  the  vanquished.  The 
men  "  shared  the  consternation  of  their  leader.""  ^  As  they 
left  the  town  behind  them  the  noise  of  the  persistent  tocsin 
gradually  died  away,  with  the  roll  of  the  drums  and  the 
various  sounds  that  arose  from  the  panic-stricken  spot ;  but 
in  every  village  they  found  the  same  state  of  excitement. 
The  royal  army  had  to  endure   a   meeting   "with   several 

1  The  river  is  not  deep  in  the  middle  of  summer,  and  the  mill-canal  is 
not  long.  If  de  Bouill^'s  officers  had  had  the  least  topographical  know- 
ledge of  the  country,  or  had  even  consulted  a  map,  they  would  have  been 
aware  that  at  a  spot  a  little  more  than  a  mile  from  Varennes  the  Clermont 
road  crosses  over  to  the  right  bank  of  the  Aire — that  is  to  say,  to  the  side 
that  they  were  on  themselves.  Deslon,  who  with  his  cavalry  was  within 
sight  of  Varennes  from  five  o'clock  in  the  morning,  could  have  entered 
the  town  without  encountering  any  obstacle  by  going  round  by  Le  Petit- 
Boureuilles,  without  having  to  cross  either  river  or  canal. 

2  M6moire  de  M.  le  Marquis  Louis  de  BouilU. 

8  Essai  8ur  la  vie  de  M.  le  Marquis  de  Bouille,  by  Rene  de  Bouille. 

304 


VARENNES   AFTER   THE  DRAMA 

detachments  of  the  local  national  guards,  who  were  marching 
to  Varennes  with  drums  beating  and  flags  flying,'"'  ^  and  the 
triumphant  people  "  gave  military  honours '"  to  the 
humiliated  soldiers  who  were  reluctantly  being  led  by  their 
oflicers  to  the  frontier. 

On  that  same  evening  de  Bouille,  accompanied  by  his  two 


THE  AIRE  AT  VARENNES. 


sons  and  a  few  officers,  passed  by  the  Chateau  of  Thonnelles 
where,  if  the  scheme  had  succeeded,  he  would  have  been 
doing  the  honours  at  that  very  hour  to  the  King  and  Queen. 
As  night  fell  he  left  France,  never  to  enter  it  again.  Almost 
immediately  after  passing  the  frontier,  where  the  fleur-de-lys 
on  the  boundary-stone  showed  dimly  in  the  twilight,  he  came 
to  a  wooded  valley  where  the  imposing  Abbey  of  Orval  stood 
peacefully  beside  its  fishponds,  encircled  by  the  forest.  The 
monks  were  at  their  evening  meal.  Bouille  asked  them  for 
shelter  for  the  night :  they  were  "  startled  by  this  military 
invasion  and  uneasy  as  to  its  motive,"  but  it  was  in  a  cell  of 
the  visitors'*  wing  that  the  Marquis  de  Bouille  spent  this  first 
^  M6moire  de  M.  le  Marquis  Louis  de  BouilU. 

805  X 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

night  of  his  exile.  On  the  following  day  he  went  on  to 
Arlon,  and  thence  to  Luxembourg. 

The  half-dazed  Varennois  had  watched  the  soldiers  of  the 
"  great  butcher  "  retiring  without  giving  battle.  They  were, 
however,  no  easier  in  their  minds  than  before,  for  this 
mysterious  movement  probably  concealed  some  deep  design. 
They  therefore  remained  on  the  defensive. 

At  eleven  o'clock,^  at  the  exact  moment  when  the 
trumpeters  of  the  Royal  Germans  were  sounding  the  retreat 
on  the  hill  whence  the  attack  was  expected,  Pere  Sauce  and 
the  municipal  body,  together  with  the  magistrates  and 
notables  who  had  accompanied  the  King  to  Clermont,  walked 
into  Varennes,  after  a  hurried  march  of  seven  leagues  following 
on  a  sleepless  night.  Sauce  and  the  municipal  officers  made 
it  their  first  care  to  release  Choiseul,  Damas,  and  Romeuf ; 
but  nevertheless  these  officers  were  prevented  from  escaping  by 
the  fact  that  their  horses  were  held  prisoners,  "  with  several 
sentries  mounting  guard  over  them  at  an  inn."  ^  But  soon 
the  excitement  grew  wilder,  and  when  a  detachment  of  the 
National  Guard  from  Verdun  marched  into  the  town  with 
drums  beating  and  bayonets  fixed,  the  officers — including 
even  Romeuf — were  again  confined  in  the  prison  of  the  town 
hall,  in  a  cell  so  unsafe  and  dilapidated  "that  in  less 
than  a  week  three  prisoners  had  escaped  from  it  through 
the  walls."  3 

It  was  an  agitating  day,  a  day  of  fever  and  sudden  alarms, 
alternating  with  hours  of  prostration,  inertia,  and  lassitude. 
We  have  no  description  of  the  scene  as  a  whole,  but  only 
isolated  accounts  of  details  ;  and  indeed  we  may  well  believe 
that  no  narrative  could  give  us  any  idea  of  the  appearance  of 
the  little  town  as  the  hordes  of  peasants  trooped  into  it  in 
an  endless  procession,  staggering  with  hunger  and  fatigue — 
for  they  had  left  their  distant  homes  at  daybreak  and  had 
been  marching  for  hours.     The  surprising  circumstance  in 

1  This  is  the  hour  mentioned  by  Radet,  and  it  harmonises  in  every 
respect  with  the  allusions  of  those  who  were  present  on  the  22nd. 

2  Narrative  of  James  Brisack. 

3  Bimbenet,  La  fuite  de  Louis  XVI y  p.  121.  "It  was  not  possible  to 
keep  them  in  our  prisons,  for  they  are  useless." — Letter  from  Madame 
Destez.     National  Archives^  D.  XXIXb,  37. 

306 


VARENNES   AFTER  THE   DRAMA 

the  affair  is  the  admirable  way  in  which  these  improvised 
battalions  were  organised.  These  peasants  of  the  old  regime, 
who  are  represented  by  some  historians  as  terrified  animals 
hardly  distinguishable  from  their  own  cattle,  were  enrolled  in 
one  hour  in  their  different  ranks,  formed  into  regiments, 
provided  with  arms,  furnished  with  provisions,  and  ready  to 
undertake  a  campaign.  The  village  of  Montblainville,  a 
league  from  Varennes,  was  awakened  at  one  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  and  instantly  mustered  "  a  hundred  and  fifty  men 
armed  with  muskets,  a  hundred  of  them  having  bayonets  as 
well."*'  They  took  with  them  a  can-iage  full  of  provisions, 
and  the  women  who  remained  behind  alone  in  the  village  set 
to  work  and  baked  enough  bread  to  "  entertain  and  feed  two 
thousand  men."  ^ 

1  The  official  report  of  the  municipality  of  Montblainville  is  among  the 
National  Archives  (D.  XXIXb,  36),  and  might  well  be  quoted  in  its 
entirety,  so  valuable  a  contribution  is  it  to  rural  history  during  the 
Revolution.  Three  mounted  couriers  arrived  from  Varennes  at  Mont- 
blainville at  about  one  o'clock  in  the  morning,  shouting  "To  arms!" 
All  the  inhabitants  were  in  bed :  the  alarm  was  sounded  at  once :  in  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  a  hundred  men  were  mustered  and  **  started  off  without 
being  properly  dressed  and  without  supplying  themselves  with  food,  led 
byjtwo  members  of  the  municipal  council."     We  now  quote  verbatim. 

*'  These  same  members,  returning  promptly,  brought  the  information 
that  the  armed  force  was  not  sufficient  to  withstand  the  enemy ;  that  it 
was  really  the  King  and  his  family  who  were  arrested,  and  that  his  escort 
would  shortly  come  to  carry  him  off,  in  spite  of  the  resistance  of  the 
national  guards,  who  were  in  danger  of  dying  for  lack  of  assistance,  being 
for  the  moment  insufficient  in  numbers. 

"Thirty  men  were  promptly  sent  to  their  aid.  These  men,  having 
repaired  with  their  arms  to  the  guard-house,  took  a  carriage  full  of 
provisions  supplied  by  the  wives  of  the  townspeople,  and  loaded  them- 
selves with  powder  and  shot  for  themselves  and  those  who  had  gone  before 
them ;  they  then  went  to  Varennes  and  joined  their  corps.  Other 
couriers  brought  us  the  news  that  the  forces  were  increasing,  that  the 
officers  of  the  King's  suite  had  been  arrested,  and  that  the  detachment  of 
the  regiment  of  hussars  had  surrendered  to  the  National  Guard. 

**  The  absent  Inhabitants  of  this  place  having  returned,  twenty  of  them 
started  for  Varennes,  armed  and  supplied  with  food,  after  the  King  had 
left,  and  remained  to  guard  that  town  with  the  other  national  guards  who 
were  there,  so  that  our  National  Guard,  including  those  on  the  road  and 
those  at  Varennes,  consisted  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  men,  armed  with  rifles 
of  which  a  hundred  had  bayonets.  The  remainder  belonged  to  various 
citizens. 

**  In  this  place,  which  has  a  hundred  and  sixty  active  inhabitants,  only  two 
members  of  the  municipal  body  remained  behind.  They  took  turns  to 
hold  the  guard-house,  together  with  a  dozen  aged  and  infirm  men  with 
five  rifles  between  them,  and  several  individuals  who  had  left  the  country 
to  carry  on  their  professions. 

"Xn  addition  to  the  carriage  full  of  bread  sent  to  Varennes,  which 

307  X  « 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

The  energy,  organisation,  and  co-operation  of  these 
villagers  were,  it  would  seem,  equal  to  the  negligence, 
indifference,  and  jealousy  that  one  is  forced  to  impute  to  the 
officers  responsible  for  the  safety  of  the  royal  family  on  their 
journey.  It  is  plain  that  the  fight  was  unequal  between  the 
ill-served,  decrepit,  irresolute  monarchy  and  the  peasantry  of 
France,  full  of  fire  as  they  were,  and  of  faith  in  their  own 
strength  and  their  own  rights. 

Even  at  Varennes,  in  spite  of  terror  as  to  the  future,  in 
spite  of  overpowering  weariness,  enthusiasm  was  the  order  of 
the  day.  Housewives  were  employing  all  their  arts  in  the 
feeding  of  their  defenders  :  one  cooked  eggs,^  while  another 
cut  slices  of  bacon  and  distributed  them  to  the  ranks  ;  every- 
where spits  were  turning,  casks  were  being  emptied,  hot 
loaves  being  piled  up,  jugs  passing  from  hand  to  hand  ; 
everywhere  there  was  eating  and  drinking,  in  all  the  houses,^ 

remained  in  that  town  and  was  distributed  by  the  local  municipal  officers 
to  the  national  guards  who  arrived  after  the  King's  departure,  we 
persuaded  the  women  to  bake  some  bread  to  be  used  in  case  of  need,  and 
this  being  done,  there  was  enough  that  same  evening  to  feed  two  thousand 
men.  Towards  evening  on  the  same  day  two  hundred  men  of  the  national 
guards  of  the  neighbourhood  arrived,  seeking  a  lodging,  and  were  gladly 
welcomed  in  the  most  comfortable  houses  of  the  place. 

"  The  next  day,  the  23rd  of  the  said  month,  being  Corpus  Christi  Day, 
a  courier  of  the  Varennes  constabulary  was  sent  with  a  note  from  the 
municipality  of  that  town,  appealing  for  help  for  the  Meuse  districts, 
where  the  inhabitants  were  stopping  bodies  of  troops  who  were  convoying 
munitions  of  war.  We  instantly  had  the  alarm  sounded.  A  fair  number 
of  lads  of  the  National  Guard  were  mustered,  and  started  without  delay, 
led  by  their  captain,  whom  we  had  supplied  with  sufficient  ammunition 
and  money  for  several  days'  fighting  and  subsistence.  As  their  way  lay 
through  Montfaucon,  and  everything  had  calmed  down,  the  municipal 
body  of  that  place  gave  them,  on  the  following  day,  a  certificate  to 
warrant  their  return,  which  they  brought  back  to  us.  .  .  . 

"  In  order  to  render  to  the  Supreme  Ruler  the  gratitude  that  is  due  to 
Him  on  account  of  this  happy  event,  it  was  decreed  that  on  the  following 
Sunday  a  Te  Deum  should  be  sung  to  thank  Him  for  this  success — a 
success  without  any  drawback — and  that  the  officiating  priest  of  the 
parish  should  be  requested  to  have  this  done  in  the  parish  church.  He 
promised  to  comply,  and  to  call  upon  the  National  Guard  and  all  the 
inhabitants  of  the  place  to  be  present  on  the  occasion. 

"Concerning  all  which  we  have  composed  and  drawn  up  the  present 
Report  in  the  cause  of  justice  and  equity,  which  Report  will  be  transcribed 
in  full  in  the  register  of  the  municipality,  to  serve  as  a  memorial  to 
posterity  and  to  encourage  future  generations  to  maintain  with  all  their 
strength  the  constitution  decreed  by  the  National  Assembly,  as  we  shall 
do  to  our  last  breath."  ^  R^my's  Narrative. 

2  Letter  from  Madame  Destez.  National  Archives,  D.  XXIXb,  37. 
"  As  far  as  we  are  concerned,  the  affair  cost  us  a  great  deal  in  bread,  wine. 


VARENNES  AFTER  THE   DRAMA 

in  the  doorways,  in  the  streets,  in  the  orchards,  under  the 
trees.  Varennes  had  become  an  immense  tea-garden,  over- 
flowing with  the  noisy  glee  of  these  people  who  had  had  no 
sleep,  and  were  intoxicated  with  triumph,  fatigue,  the 
strangeness  of  their  adventure,  the  hot  June  sunshine,  and 
the  expectation  of  danger.  And  when  the  evening  fell  upon 
this  tragic  day,  when  after  the  sultry  hours  the  shadows  crept 
gradually  into  the  valley,  bringing  coolness  with  them,  all 
these  wearied  national  guards  and  townsfolk,  prisoners, 
hussars,  and  villagers,  camped  out  as  best  they  could  along 
the  walls  of  the  houses,  or  in  great  discomfort  in  the 
cemetery,  or  in  bams,  on  the  banks  of  the  Aire  or  in  the 
church  of  Saint-Gengoult,  in  the  schoolhouse  or  in  the  market- 
place at  the  town  hall,  and  slept  as  men  sleep  when  they 
have  done  a  hard  day"*s  work  and  have  not  had  a  minute  of 
rest  for  twenty  hours. 

The  night  was  quiet,  or  nearly  so.  Twice  the  call  to  arms 
was  sounded,^  but  the  defenders  of  Varennes  were  sleeping  so 
well  that  they  thought  it  an  inappropriate  moment  to  disturb 
themselves.  Some  adventurous  characters,  who  had  been 
kept  awake  by  the  effect  of  the  wine,  amused  themselves  with 
"  spying  at ''  Choiseul  and  his  companions  in  captivity 
"  through  the  holes  with  which  their  cell  was  ventilated,'**  ^  and 
even  attempted  to  set  fire  to  the  prison,  but  some  national 
guards  soon  made  them  see  reason. 

At  five  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  Thursday  the  23rd  the 
municipality,  being  now  only  anxioas  to  be  rid  of  the 
prisoners,  handed  them  over  to  a  detachment  of  the  National 
Guard  of  Verdun.  Choiseul,  Damas,  Floirac,  and  Remy 
were  all  crowded  into  one  carriage,  which  with  a  strong 
escort  took  the  road  to  Verdun^;  while  Romeuf  was  set 
at  liberty  with  apologies,  but  only  on  condition  that  he 
should    start    for    Paris   without    delay.*      He    had    some 

beer,  milk,  beds,  etc.  etc. ;  not  forgetting  the  worry  and  fatigue,  and  all 
that  is  entailed  by  an  alarm  of  the  kind." 
^  R^my's  Narrative. 

2  Ibid. 

3  "On  our  way  from  Varennes  to  Verdun  a  halt  was  called,  and  we 
thought  we  were  going  to  be  shot,  because  our  escort  imagined  they  saw 
the  Royal  Germans  coming  to  rescue  us." — Ibid. 

*  James  Brisack's  Narrative. 

309 


THE   FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

difficulty  in  procuring  a  horse,  and  was  only  able  to  leave 
Varennes  at  eleven  in  the  morning,^  when  the  Corpus 
Christi  procession  was  in  the  act  of  leaving  the  church 
to  make  its  customary  progress  round  the  streets  of  the 
town. 

For  the  Varennois,  in  spite  of  the  circumstances,  had  no 
intention  of  failing  in  the  observance  of  their  old  customs. 
Discord,  however,  was  in  the  air,  and  the  matter  turned 
out  badly.  The  former  cwre,  M.  Methains,  had  been  re- 
placed a  few  months  before  by  a  constitutional  priest  called 
Gaillet,^  and  it  was  this  intruder  who  officiated  in  the 
procession  of  the  23rd  of  June,  1791.  According  to  the 
usual  custom,  the  procession  made  its  way  to  the  Convent 
of  the  Annonciades  in  the  upper  town,  where  an  altar 
was  usually  set  up;  but  on  this  occasion  the  nuns  refused 
to  open  their  doors  to  a  constitutional  cure.  Negotiations 
were  set  on  foot,  but  the  nuns  were  firm.  The  entire 
municipal  body  then  repaired  to  the  convent,  and  pointed 
out  that  in  the  present  excited  state  of  the  town  the 
determination  of  the  nuns  might  result  in  serious  annoyance 
to  them.  The  Annonciades  were  unconvinced.  Meanwhile 
the  crowd  was  awaiting  the  result  of  this  colloquy  in  a 
state  of  the  greatest  excitement,  and  no  sooner  was  the 
procession  seen  to  begin  retracing  its  steps  than  the  whole 
street  was  filled  with  tumult.  Vociferous  threats  were 
hurled  at  the  aristocratic  nuns ;  the  convent  door  was 
burst  open ;  the  windows  were  broken  with  stones ;  the 
house  was  invaded,  and  the  furniture  thrown  into  the 
street.  To  prevent  a  more  sacrilegious  form  of  pillage 
the  nuns  were  obliged  to  fly  from  the  convent  and  take 
refuge  in  the  town  hall,  where  they  were  guarded  for  some 
hours  "for  their  own  safety's  sake";  after  which,  towards 
the  evening,  they  were  "  distributed  about  in  various  private 

*  Romeuf  was  making  a  mistake  when,  on  returning  to  Paris,  he  de- 
clared before  the  National  Assembly  that  he  had  left  Varennes  on  the 
Wednesday  morning  [Parliamentary  Archives,  Vol.  XXVII. ,  p.  449).  He 
spent  the  whole  of  Wednesday  the  22nd  at  Varennes,  and  remained  there 
in  confinement  during  the  night  following  that  day. 

'^  During  the  Revolution  M.  Gaillet  forsook  the  priesthood  and  married. 
He  retired  to  the  neighbourhood  of  Jub^court,  and  died  in  1830. — Manu- 
scrit  Coulonvaux. 

310 


VARENNES   AFTER  THE   DRAMA 

houses,  where  they  were  sheltered"  until  a  more  formal 
secularisation  was  effected.^ 

The  Revolution  had  come  to  Varennes.  The  municipality, 
sitting  en  permanence  at  the  town  hall,  assumed  airs  of 
supreme  authority,  and,  driven  by  circumstances,  intoxicated 
by  their  sudden  importance,  certain  that  all  France  would 
admire  them  and  that  the  authorities  set  over  them  would 
be  indulgent,  they  overstepped  their  powers  recklessly.  The 
incident  of  the  procession  was  hardly  over  before  the  hussars 
quartered  in  the  town  appeared  at  the  town  hall.  Their 
officers  had  vanished;  they  had  no  orders,  no  pay,  no 
ammunition,  no  provisions,  and  their  attitude  at  the  time 
of  the  King''s  arrest  assured  them,  on  their  return  to  the 
regiment,  of  a  welcome  which  they  were  in  no  hurry  to 
experience.  The  municipality  of  Varennes,  being  touched 
by  their  plight  and  grateful  for  their  services,  invited  them 
to  choose  a  leader  from  among  themselves,  upon  which 
the  hussars  paid  Quartermaster  Chariot  and  a  non-com- 
missioned officer  called  Muller  the  compliment  of  electing 
them.  The  municipal  council  *'  at  once  raised  these  two 
soldiers  to  the  position  of  officers,  and  gave  over  to  them 
a  copy  of  the  resolution  as  a  substitute  for  a  commission." 
Moreover,  as  Lieutenant  Rohrig  in  deserting  his  post  had 
left  his  kit  behind  him,  Chariot  took  possession  of  the 
epaulet  of  his  late  superior  officer,  and  offered  to  buy  his 
entire  outfit  "  at  a  fair  price."  ^ 

No  time  was  wasted  at  Varennes  during  the  days  that 
followed  the  23rd  of  June.  The  preliminary  meeting  in 
connection  with  the  elections  was  held  on  Friday  the  24th. 

*  Manuscrit  CotdonvauXj  Bimbenet,  p.  124. 

*  National  Archives,  D.  XXIXb,  38.  Charles  Moreux,  known  as  Chariot, 
bom  at  Dannemarie,  Isle-de-France,  December  23,  1750.  He  wrote  on  the 
11th  of  July  to  the  municipality  of  Varennes  "that  on  his  rejoining  his 
regiment  his  colonel,  Pestalozzi,  had  made  him  remove  the  epaulet,  and 
had  degraded  him  to  the  rank  of  quartermaster  once  more."  He  begged 
that  the  municipal  officers  of  Varennes  would  refer  the  matter  to  the 
Assembly,  and  adds  that  if  he  cannot  stay  with  his  regiment  he  begs  for 
a  post  at  Varennes.  The  Revolution  secured  him  a  rapid  career.  He  was 
made  an  ensign  on  the  24th  of  July  1792,  a  captain  on  the  23rd  of  Novem- 
ber of  the  same  year,  and  a  major  on  the  13th  Ventose,  year  II.  In  the 
year  VII  he  was  permitted  to  retire,  and  apparently  settled  down  at  Pont- 
i-Mousson. — Archives  of  the  War  Office. 

311 


THE   FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

"  My  husband,""  writes  the  wife  of  Judge  Destez,  "  went  to 
the  town  hall  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  and  came  out  at 
nine  to  go  to  the  meeting,  which  he  only  left  for  dinner; 
and  he  is  there  still.  I  am  certain  that  during  the  last  three 
days  he  has  not  had  six  hours  of  rest,  including  the  hours  of 
his  meals."  ^  The  great  business  at  the  town  hall  was  the 
drafting  of  the  official  report  of  the  arrest,  the  publication  of 
which  would  spread  "  the  immortal  glory "  of  Varennes 
throughout  the  whole  of  France.  For  these  humble  bourgeois^ 
unaccustomed  as  they  were  to  wield  the  pen,  the  composition 
of  this  document  was  not  free  from  serious  difficulties  :  the 
first  version  was  entered  in  the  register  of  the  commune  on 
the  23rd  of  June,  after  a  resolution  dated  the  19th  and 
headed  Things  necessary  for  the  Feast  of  Corpus  Christi} 
This  first  report  on  a  subject  of  so  delicate  a  nature  was 
composed  in  a  style  as  emotional  as  it  was  artless,  and  had  no 
success  with  the  Directory  of  the  department,  to  which  it  was 
submitted :  the  gentlemen  of  Bar-le-Duc  returned  the 
effusion  from  Varennes,  and  sent  with  it  the  following  unkind 
lecture  :  "  An  official  report,  gentlemen,  should  be  a  true  and 
circumstantial  recital  of  facts ;  its  form  does  not  admit  of  any 
rhetorical  ornaments,  and  we  fear  that  the  picture  you  give 
in  yours  .  .  .  appears  a  little  exaggerated  and  even  out  of 
place.""  It  was  necessary,  therefore,  to  begin  the  business 
again.  It  was  confided  to  the  two  most  learned  men  of  the  town 
— Lambert  the  surgeon  and  Judge  Destez,  it  is  believed  ^ — 
and  this  time  the  purists  of  Bar  graciously  declared  themselves 
satisfied,  though  they  had  indulged,  so  they  wrote,  in  a  few 
"corrections  in  matters  of  form,  which  the  haste  of  the 
writers  had  prevented  them  from  being  able  to  make  them- 
selves."'"' Thus  revised,  the  report  was  printed  and  despatched 
to  every  commune  in  France. 

The  people  of  Varennes  were  convinced,  and  with  justice, 
that  the  name  of  their  town  had  been  made  famous  for  ever, 
and  they  waited  with  pride  and  impatience  for  the  sensation 

1  National  Archives,  D.  XXIXb,  37.  ^  /^^-^^ 
»  3  V.   Fournel,  L']^v4nement  de  Varennes,  Appendix.     V.  Fournel  pub- 
lished the  two  reports  of  the  arrest  in  his  book.     See  Appendix,  p.  310 
et  seq. 

312 


VARENNES   AFTER  THE   DRAMA 

which  the  recital  of  their  exploits  must  produce  in  the 
capital.  It  was  not  till  the  morning  of  the  26th  that  the 
first  news  anived  from  Paris,  in  the  form  of  a  letter  from 
Mangin  the  surgeon,  the  man  who  had  left  Varennes  at 
about  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  22nd,  immediately 
after  Destez  had  identified  the  royal  family  in  Sauce's 
house. 

Mangin  had  covered  the  three  leagues  that  lie  between 
Varennes  and  Clermont  in  three-quarters  of  an  hour.  Con- 
tinuing his  journey  at  the  same  excellent  pace,  he  had  reached 
Chalons  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  found  that  the 
fact  of  the  arrest  had  been  known  there  since  four,  having 
been  brought  thither  by  Viet  the  postmaster,  who  had  only 
left  Sainte-Menehould  after  the  return  of  the  triumphant 
Drouet.^  At  Chalons,  Mangin  took  time  to  breathe.  There 
he  met  with  an  eccentric  who  had  hastened  from  Paris  in  the 
hope  of  finding  a  role  that  would  suit  him  :  Palloy,  the  famous 
Patriot  Palloy.'^ 

This  man,  who  ever  since  the  14th  of  July  1789  had  been 
exploiting  the  Revolution,  thought  that  the  present  occasion 
was  a  good  opportunity  for  acquiring  immortality.  He  was 
one  of  those  who  had  dashed  forth,  at  the  same  time  as 
Bayon,  to  the  pursuit  of  the  King ;  but  being  a  less  robust 
horseman,  he  had  arrived  at  Chalons  rather  late  at  night,  and 
had  gone  no  farther.^     He  turned   back   therefore  on   the 

*  This  was  evidently  what  took  place,  but  the  authorities  are  not  agreed. 
According  to  the  Official  Report  of  Sainte-M^nehould,  Drouet  returned  to 
his  own  town  from  Varennes  when  it  uxia  four  o'clock  (see  Ancelon,  La 
ViriU,  etc.),  bringing  the  news  of  the  arrest.:  Now,  in  the  Official  Reports 
of  Chalons  we  read  that  **  on  the  22nd  of  June,  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
the  Sieur  Viez  [stc],  postmaster  of  that  town,  who  had  been  sent  the  day 
before  to  Sainte-Menehould,  brought  back  to  Chalons  the  news  of  the 
arrest  of  the  King  and  Queen."  It  is  incomprehensible  how  he  had  heard 
the  news,  since  he  could  only  have  received  it  from  Drouet ;  and  Viet 
entered  ChS,lons,  if  we  may  believe  the  Reports,  at  the  very  moment  that 
Drouet  entered  Sainte-Menehould. 

2  With  regard  to  this  curious  individual  see  Le  patriote  Palloy  et  lea 
vainqueurs  de  la  Bastille,  by  V.  Fournel. 

3  He  succeeded  in  making  it  believed  that  he  had  gone  all  the  way  to 
Varennes.  A  statement  to  that  effect  was  printed  in  the  Courrier  de 
Oorsaa  and  in  Les  Revolutions  de  France.  Choiseul  even  mentioned  the 
circumstance  in  his  memoirs.  But  it  was  physically  impossible.  If  Palloy, 
Uke  Bayon,  had  arrived  in  Varennes  at  about  four  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
which  is  conceivable,  he  could  not  possibly  have  been  able  to  overtake 
Mangin  on  the  road  and  arrive  in  Paris  with  him  at  seven  in  the  evening. 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

Paris  road  with  Mangin,  hoping  that  the  latter  would  be 
worn  out  and  obliged  to  call  a  halt  before  the  goal  was 
reached,  and  would  depute  him,  Palloy,  to  carry  the  good 
news ;  but  Mangin  held  out  to  the  end,  and  as  he  even  had 
a  shrewd  suspicion  that  his  companion  desired  to  rob  him  of 
his  glory,  he  tried  to  shake  off  that  gentleman  en  route. 
Palloy  clung  to  him,  however.  At  Bondy,  which  the  two 
men  reached  at  about  seven  in  the  evening,  Mangin  succeeded, 
by  employing  a  ruse,  in  outstripping  Palloy:  the  latter, 
however,  overtook  him  at  the  very  door  of  the  National 
Assembly,  and  they  entered  the  hall  together.  Together 
they  handed  to  the  President  the  despatches  that  had  been 
entrusted  to  Mangin,  and  together  they  went  out  to  seek 
refreshment  and  to  rest — still  together,  for  Palloy  would 
not  be  parted  from  the  man  whose  brilliant  action  was  reflected 
upon  himself.  They  were  still  together  on  the  following  day, 
when  during  the  morning  sitting,  at  about  half  past  twelve, 
they  appeared,  brushed  up  and  tidied,  before  the  Assembly. 
It  is  true  that  Mangin  was  alone  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  made 
a  little  speech  which  was  enthusiastically  applauded ;  but 
Palloy,  hearing  the  cheers  from  behind  the  curtain,  could  not 
bear  to  be  excluded,  and  begged  for  admission.  This 
favour  was  granted  to  him.^  "  I  wish  to  inform  the 
Assembly,"  he  said,  "  that  M.  Mangin  by  himself  was  the 
means  of  collecting  twelve  thousand  men  to  guard  the  King ; 
and  such  was  the  pace  at  which  he  rode  that  his  horse  fell  dead 
under  him."" 

Mangin  was  annoyed  by  Palloy''s  interference.  "  The 
horse  is  not  dead,""  he  said,  and  for  a  moment  it  seemed  as 
though  the  two  partners  were  about  to  quarrel.  But  Palloy, 
seeing  this  danger,  retracted  his  words.  "True,"  he  said, 
"  he  is  not  dead,  but  he  fell  down  under  my  brave  comrade."" 
Mangin  cut  him  short.  "  The  important  point,  gentle- 
men .  .  .""he  continued,  and  so  finished  his  speech.^     Palloy 

A  hundred  and  twenty  leagues  in  thirty-one  hours,  without  a  pause  and 
without  rest !  Moreover,  a  report  by  Bodan  {National  Archives,  D.  XXIXb, 
37)  states  definitely  that  Palloy  only  went  as  far  as  ChMons. 

1  Parliamentary  Archives,  XXVII,  p.  446.  *'  The  President :  M.  Palloy, 
a  citizen  of  Paris,  whose  patriotism  led  him  to  follow  the  King,  and 
who  has  also  arrived  from  Varennes,  begs  to  be  heard."     {Yes!  Yes!) 

2  Parliamentary  Archives,  XXVII,  p.  447. 

314 


VARENNES   AFTER  THE   DRAMA 

and  Mangin,  however,  remained  good  friends.  The  latter  did 
the  honours  of  Paris  to  the  Varennois,  and  his  letter  to  his 
fellow-townsmen  shows  him  to  have  been  singularly  intoxicated 
by  his  enthusiastic  reception  in  the  capital.  "  Yesterday  I 
dined  with  our  general,  M.  Lafayette,  who  received  me  with 
open  arms.  ...  I  cannot  walk  a  hundred  yards  in  Paris  with- 
out being  seized  and  embraced  by  colonels,  officers,  patriots 
of  all  kinds  and  all  classes — even  the  ancient  fishwives,  who 
positively  gnaw  me  instead  of  giving  me  a  mere  smack.  .  .  . 
I  am  going  to-day  to  dine  with  M.  Palloy.  ...  I  do  not 
know  if  my  poor  horse  is  done  for.  .  .  .  I  tried  even  yesterday 
to  begin  my  return  journey,  but  I  could  not  possibly  have 
done  it.  To-morrow,  however,  I  will  try  to  take  the  diligence, 
for  as  for  going  on  horseback,  I  am  much  too  sore.  I 
shall  take  good  care  not  to  go  to  the  Palais  Royal,  for 
I  think  I  should  die  outright  there  in  the  arms  of  the 
patriots."  ^ 

Two  days  later  Drouet  had  an  ovation  of  quite  another 
kind.  He  was  carried  round  in  a  triumphal  procession,  and 
"  was  squeezed  so  tightly  that  it  seemed  as  though  he  must 
be  smothered.""  ^  The  resolute  Varennois  who  accompanied 
the  royal  family  to  the  Tuileries  were  received  with  equal 
enthusiasm.  It  is  not  known  how  many  of  these  there  were. 
The  General  Council  of  the  Commune  of  Paris  had  taken  all 
necessary  measures  for  "the  lodging  and  feeding  of  the 
national  guards  who  had  come  from  the  country,  and  had  in- 
tended to  lodge  them  in  the  secularised  convents  and  in  five 
hundred  tents  that  had  been  set  up  in  the  Champs-Elysees 
and  the  Champ  de  la  Federation.*"  ^  It  is  probable  that  it 
was  unnecessary  to  make  use  of  these  places,  for  by  the  time 
it  reached  the  barriers  the  King''s  escort,  large  as  it  was,  was 
composed  only  of  men  belonging  to  the  country  round  Paris, 
who  could  reach  their  own  houses  that  evening. 

As  for  the  Varennois,  there  were  doubtless  not  very  many 
of  them — fifteen  or  sixteen,  perhaps,  judging  from  the  menu 
of  the  modest  repasts  that  were  prepared  for  them  by  order 

*  Victor  Foumel,  L'^v^nement  de  Varennes,  Appendix, 
a  Le  Bahillard,  No.  21. 

'  JourTud  de  Parisy  quoted  by  Brette,  Histoire  dea  Edifices,  etc. 
315 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

of  the  Assembly  by  Beaumaine,  who  kept  an  eating-house  in 
the  Jardin  des  Feuillants. 

"  On  the  25th  :  20  bottles  of  beer,  at  7  sols  ;  14  bottles  ot 
wine,  at  1  franc  ;  16  plates  of  potage  au  riz  or  other  soup,  at 
10  sols ;  10  dozen  of  pastry,  at  6  sols  a  dozen  ;  7  rolls, 
at  6  sols. 

"  On  the  26th  :  15  bottles  of  beer,  9  bottles  of  wine,  10 
rolls,  6  dozen  of  pastry.""  ^ 

After  their  entry  into  the  town  behind  the  royal  berline 
amid  shouts  and  cheers,  in  a  cart  decked  with  branches  and 
garlands,  the  Varennois  were  lodged  at  Saint-Roch,  where  the 
cwre,  M.  Legrand,  had  placed  at  their  disposal  "a  large 
number  of  empty  rooms  in  his  house.""  ^  On  the  29th  June 
they  went  in  a  body  to  bid  farewell  to  the  National  Assembly 
and  take  the  oath  to  live  in  freedom  or  to  die.^  But  before 
returning  to  their  own  hearths  they  were  invited  to  dine  with 
Palloy,  who  entertained  them  all  at  his  house  in  the  Faubourg 
Saint- Victor,  at  a  grand  civic  banquet,  where  there  was  much 
feasting  and  gaiety.  A  hymn  was  chanted  in  their  honour  to 
the  tune  of  La  Fanfare  de  Saint-Cloud  : 

Vivent  les  gens  de  Varennes, 
Clermont,  Sainte-Mdnehould, 
Qui  pour  Eloigner  nos  peines 
Ontfait  manquer  un  beau  coup!^ 

A  legend — chiefly  mythical — grew  up  round  the  facts. 
During  the  sitting  of  the  23rd  Robespierre  had  suggested 

^  Brette,  Histoire  des  J^dijlces,  etc.  A  facsimile  of  the  document  is 
given. 

^  Archives  of  the  Office  of  the  Commissioner  of  Police.  Official  Reports  of 
the  Commissioners. 

'  Parliamentary  Archives,  XXVII,  p.  596. 

^  The  aflfair  of  Varennes  gave  rise  to  several  musical  compositions. 
"  Fantasia  on  the  departure  and  return  of  the  King  and  Queen,"  to  the  air 
oi  Lorsque  le  roi partit  de  France. — "The  plots  of  the  Court,  and  its  de- 
parture," to  the  air  of  R4.veillez-vous,  belle  endormie,  by  the  Widow  Ferrand. 
— "The  pursuit  and  return  of  the  family  hitherto  called  royal,"  to  the 
air  of  Quoi,  vous  partez  sajis  que  rien  vous  arrete,  by  Citizen  Widow 
Ferrand. — "Flight  and  return  of  the  King  and  Queen,"  by  G.  .  .  to  the 
air  of  Colinette  au  bois  ien  alia. — "The  secret  plots  of  the  Court,"  to  the 
air  of  Charmantes  fleurs,  by  Citizen  Widow  Ferrand. — "Treason  of  the 
Court  and  the  army,"  to  the  air  of  Comme  un  oiseau,  by  Citizen  Widow 
Ferrand. 

See  Les  hymnes  et  chansons  de  la  Revolution,  by  Constant  Pierre,  Head 
Clerk  of  the  secretarial  department  of  the  National  Conservatoire  de  Musique. 

316 


ENNES  AFTER  THE  DRAMA 


that  a  civic  crown  should  be  awarded  to  Citizen  "  Mangin, 
who  contributed  more  than  any  other  man  to  the  arrest  of  the 
King  and  his  family."  ^  Rewbell  answered  that  "  the  merit 
did  not  all  belong  to  Mangin  :  it  was  Drouet  who  first  felt 
suspicious  as  to  the  rank  of  the  travellers,  and  the  question  of 
rewards  would  call  for  a  rigorous  inquiry.""  The  motion  was 
laid  before  the  Constitutional  Committee,  who  were  instantly 
overwhelmed  with  requests  and  claims. 

Every  man  at  Varennes  thought  the  success  of  the  affair  was 
owing  to  himself,  and  discord  reigned  in  the  ^illustrious  town. 
While  complimentary  letters  and  tributes  of  admiration  ^ 
were  pouring  into  the  town  .hall  from  every  corner  of  France, 
the  inhabitants,  who  had  been  so  peaceful  but  a  few  days 
before,  were  convulsed  with  anger,  spite,  and  jealousy.  It 
was  known  that  the  Assembly  was  making  inquiries,  and  each 
man  began  to  advertise  his  own  exploits.  A  certain  Sieur 
Chevalot  "  circulated  writings  '*''  proving  that  he  was  the  chief 
agent  in  the  arrest.^  Sieur  Gentil,  who  had  formerly  been  in 
the  mounted  constabulary,  put  forward  the  sameclaim,^  which 
had  very  little  justification,  if  one  may  believe  a  memorandum 
by  Citizen  George,  who,  being  a  deputy  from  the  Clermont 
district,  was  consulted  by  the  Committee,  and  tried,  much  to 
his  credit,  to  bring  some  kind  of  moderation  into  the  demands 
of  his  constituents.  At  last,  on  the  18th  August  1791,  the 
Assembly  published  its  decree.  The  town  of  Varennes  was 
endowed  "  with  the  two  convents  of  the  Annonciades  and  the 
Cordeliers,  for  the  accommodation  of  the  Tribunal  of  the  dis- 

^  Parliamentary  Archives,  XXVII,  p.  450. 

^  These  addresses  are  preserved  at  Varennes  and  form  a  large  bundle. 
Some  of  them  are  astonishing.  The  address  from  the  municipality  of  Paris 
begins  :  **  Town  and  people  for  ever  famous  in  the  annals  of  history  :  "  the 
inhabitants  of  Varennes-le-Grand  (in  the  department  of  Saone-et-Loire,  a 
few  leagues  from  Salornay-sur-Guye)  offered  to  change  the  name  of  their 
town  and  to  yield  the  title  of  Great  to  Varennes-en-Argonne.  Perpignan 
accompanied  its  letter  with  a  crown,  which  was  preserved  in  the  town 
hall.  Another  village  of  Saone-et-Loire,  also  near  Salornay,  Saint-Gengoux- 
le-Royal  (now  Le  National)  wrote  :  "If  the  village  of  Arc  became  famous 
from  having  given  birth  to  the  brave  woman  who  saved  France,  how  much 
more  famous  should  Varennes  be,  which,"  etc.  And  a  little  further  on  : 
'*It  was  by  chance  that  Jeanne  was  bom  at  Arc:  Jeanne  is  the  only 
famous  individual  produced  by  that  village." — See  V.  Fournel,  L']^4iie- 
ment  de  Varennes,  Appendix. 

8  National  Archives,  D.  XXIXb,  37.  Ibid. 

317 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

trict " :  it  was  granted,  further,  the  lucrative  honour  of  having 
a  garrison  ;  a  detachment  of  cavalry  would  for  the  future  be 
quartered  there  at  the  expense  of  the  national  treasury.  The 
commune  was  presented  with  two  guns,  and  a  flag  inscribed 
A  grateful  country;  and  to  each  of  the  national  guards  a 
musket  and  sword  were  given.  Drouet  received  30,000  livres  ; 
Sauce  20,000 ;  Guillaume  10,000 ;  Mangin,  the  innkeeper 
Leblanc,  and  such  of  his  customers  as  had  been  at  the 
Bras  (TOr  when  the  berline  arrived,  were  given  6,000  livres 
apiece.^ 

^  Here  is  the  complete  text  of  this  decree,  in  which  will  be  found  many 
names  mentioned  in  the  course  of  the  foregoing  narrative  : — 

Law  granting  rewards  to  those  who  served  the  State  faithfully  on  the 
occasion  of  the  events  of  June  21  and  the  following  days,  given  at  Paris 
August  22,  1791.  Decree  of  August  18,  1791  :  Louis,  by  the  Grace  of  God 
and  the  constitutional  law  of  the  State,  King  of  the  French,  to  all  whom 
it  may  concern,  greeting. 

The  National  Assembly  has  decreed,  and  we  desire  and  ordain  as 
follows : 

The  National  Assembly,  having  heard  the  report  of  its  Committee  of 
Inquiry  with  regard  to  the  rewards  to  be  given  to  those  who  were  most 
active  in  the  service  of  the  State  on  the  occasion  of  the  events  of  the 
22nd  June  and  the  following  days. 

Pronounces  itself  satisfied  with  the  zeal  and  prudence  of  the  members 
composing  the  directories,  the  administrative  bodies,  and  municipalities  of 
the  Meuse,  the  Mame,  and  the  Ardennes,  with  the  courage  of  the  National 
Guard  and  constabulary  of  those  departments,  and  with  the  public  spirit 
of  the  troops  of  the  line,  who,  the  circumstances  being  as  they  were,  sup- 
ported the  citizens ;  and  declares  these  persons  to  deserve  well  of  their 
country  and  to  have  honourably  done  their  duty. 

And  moreover  decrees : 

1st.  That  two  houses  belonging  to  the  nation,  with  their  offices,  situated 
in  the  town  of  Varennes-en-Argonne,  and  hitherto  occupied,  the  one  by 
the  Annonciade  nuns,  the  other  by  the  Cordeliers,  shall  be  appropriated, 
the  first  for  the  meetings  of  the  district  tribunal  and  the  bench,  and  for 
the  quarters  of  the  national  constabulary ;  the  second  to  form  barracks  for 
the  accommodation  of  the  cavalry ;  and  that  the  expenses  of  these  establish- 
ments shall  be  defrayed  by  the  national  treasury. 

2nd.  That  in  the  name  of  the  nation  the  commune  of  Varennes  shall  be 
presented  with  two  pieces  of  ordnance  and  a  flag  of  the  tricolor  bearing 
this  inscription,  A  grateftd  country/  to  the  toion  of  Varennes ;  and  each  of 
the  national  guards  of  that  town  with  a  rifle  and  a  sword. 

3rd.  That  a  piece  of  ordnance  shall  also  be  given  to  the  town  of  Cler- 
mont-en-Argonne,  and  five  hundred  rifles  to  be  distributed  in  the  same  way 
among  the  national  guards  of  that  district. 

4th.  That  the  public  treasury  shall  pay,  out  of  the  2,000,000  livres  set 
apart  for  the  reward  of  services  rendered,  to  the  citizens  hereinafter  named 
the  following  sums,  namely  : 

To  the  Sieur  Drouet,  postmaster  of  Sainte-M^nehould,  thirty  thousand 
livres ; 

To  the  Sieur  Sauce,  procureur  of  the  commune  of  Varennes,  twenty 
thousand  livres ; 

318 


VARENNES   AFTER  THE   DRAMA 

The  effect  in  Varennes  was  disastrous.  The  mutual  resent- 
ment that  had  been  latent  since  the  night  of  the  21st  broke 
out  openly  :  war  was  declared  from  house  to  house ;  there 
were   quarrels  between  neighbours,  discussions  in  the  town 

To  the  Sieur  Bayon,  major  in  the  Parisian  Guard,  twenty  thousand 
livres. 

To  the  Sieur  Guillaume,  clerk  of  the  district  of  Sainte-M^nehould,  ten 
thousand  livres ; 

To  the  Sieur  Leblanc  the  elder,  innkeeper  and  oflScer  in  the  National 
Guard  of  Varennes ; 

To  the  Sieur  Paul  Leblanc,  jeweller,  and  lieutenant  of  grenadiers  in  the 
same  town ; 

To  the  Sieur  Justin  George,  captain  of  grenadiers  at  Varennes  ; 

To  the  Sieur  Coquillard,  jeweller,  and  oflBcer  of  the  National  Guard  at 
Varennes ; 

To  the  Sieur  Joseph  Ponsin,  grenadier  at  Varennes  ; 

To  the  Sieur  Rolland,  major  of  the  National  Guard  of  Varennes ; 

To  the  Sieur  Mangin,  surgeon  at  Varennes  ; 

To  the  Sieur  Itam,  major  of  the  National  Guard  of  Ch6py  ; 

To  the  Sieur  Carre,  commandant  of  the  National  Guard  of  Clermont ; 

To  the  Sieur  Bedu,  major  of  the  National  Guard  of  the  same  town  ; 

To  the  Sieur  Thevenin,  national  guard  and  registrar  of  the  Jiige  de  Paix 
of  Les  Islettes ; 

To  the  Sieur  Fdneaux,  national  guard  and  ex-quartermaster  in  the 
Limousin  regiment,  living  at  Sainte-M^nehould  ; 

To  each  the  sum  of  six  thousand  livTcs. 

That  out  of  the  said  two  million  shall  be  also  paid  as  follows  : 

To  the  Sieur  Regnier,  of  Montblainville ; 

To  the  Sieur  Delion-Drouet,  of  Montfaucon ; 

To  the  Sieur  Marie-Berthe,  constable  at  Varennes ; 

To  the  Sieur  Foucher,  ex -quartermaster  in  the  Belzance  regiment  and 
national  guard  at  Varennes  ; 

And  to  the  Sieur  Lepointe,  constable  at  Sainte-M6nehould  ; 

To  each  the  sum  of  throe  thousand  livres. 

5th.  That  the  Sieur  Veyrat,  merchant  at  Sainte-Mpnehould,  and  the 
Sieur  Legay,  officer  of  the  National  Guard  in  the  same  town,  shall  each  be 
given  a  sum  of  twelve  thousand  livres  for  having  received  serious  gun-shot 
wounds. 

6th.  That  the  Sieur  Collet,  of  Villiers-en-Argonne,  whose  son,  a  constable 
at  Sainte-M^nehould,  was  killed,  shall  receive  the  sum  of  three  thousand 
livres. 

7th.  That  the  Sieur  Labaude,  national  guard  at  Varennes,  who  was 
attacked  and  seriously  wounded  near  Chalons,  shall  receive  the  sum  of  two 
thousand  livres. 

8th.  That  to  the  Sieur  Lenio,  constable  at  Clermont,  shall  be  paid  six 
hundred  livres,  and  to  the  Sieur  Pierson,  supernumerary  constable  in  the 
same  town,  four  hundred  livres. 

Finally,  that  the  President  shall  undertake  to  write  a  personal  letter 
expressing  satisfaction  to  the  directories  of  the  districts  of  Clermont  and 
Sainte-M^nehould,  and  to  the  municipal  officers  of  Varennes,  Clermont, 
and  Sainte-M^nehould. 

We  declare  and  ordain,  etc.,  Paris,  August  22,  1791.  Li  virtue  of  the 
decrees  of  June  21  and  25,  1791.  In  the  King's  name  :  signed  M.  L.  F. 
DUPONT, — Archives  of  Varennes. 

319 


THE   FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

council,  and  fights  in  the  taverns  !  All  who  had  received 
nothing,  though  the  affair  had  cost  them  a  considerable  amount 
"  in  bread,  wine,  beer,  cakes,  and  other  provisions  that  had 
been  devoured,"  thought  themselves  aggrieved  ;  those  who  had 
received  a  reward  felt  it  to  be  far  less  than  their  merits  de- 
served. Everyone  had  dreamed  of  a  good  post  or  a  large 
sum  of  money.  The  bulk  of  the  population  was  indignant : 
everyone  had  done  his  duty  ;  why  favour  some  and  give 
nothing  to  others  ?  When  Itam,  the  major  of  the  National 
Guard  of  Chepy,  received  6,000  livres,  his  whole  troop  pro- 
tested, and  presented  a  very  vigorous  petition  to  the  Assembly. 
Itam  had  done  nothing ;  he  was  a  schemer,  an  aristocrat. 
They  forced  him  to  resign  his  post.  Justin  George,  the  son 
of  the  deputy,  had  the  good  sense  to  divide  his  6,000  livres 
among  his  comrades  of  the  National  Guard  and  the  school  of 
Varennes.  Sauce  tried  to  save  a  portion  of  his  gratuity,  but 
his  20,000  livres  were  wrung  from  him,  little  by  little,  by  dint 
of  everlasting  reproaches,  insults,  and  invectives.  And  when 
towards  the  end  of  July  the  prize-winners  came  home  from 
Paris,  after  their  journey  thither  to  receive  their  money  and 
to  be  cajoled  by  the  Parisians,  "  no  one  walked  a  step  to  meet 
them  ;  on  the  contrary,  they  were  treated  with  the  most 
sovereign  contempt.  They  were  cashiered  and  degraded  in 
the  presence  of  their  troops,  and  other  officers  appointed  in 
their  place,  whom  the  municipality  were  forced  to  acknow- 
ledge."" ^  Every  man  preyed  upon  his  neighbour.  Ah ! 
Varennes  paid  dearly  for  its  fame.  And  now  it  was  the 
almost  unanimous  opinion  of  the  inhabitants  that  "the 
Sauces  and  their  associates  ""  had  drawn  down  upon  the  un- 
happy town  the  most  terrible  disasters  by  interfering,  either 
from  stupidity  or  pride,  in  the  matter  of  the  King^s  arrest — 
that  it  would  have  been  much  cleverer  and  much  more  profit- 
able to  everyone  if  his  progress  had  been  facilitated.  For  a 
reaction  had  taken  place.  Varennes  was  now  the  accursed 
town,  upon  which  the  royalists  throughout  France,  the  ever- 
growing body  of  emigrants,  and  every  hostile  foreign  nation 
were  calling  down  fire  from  heaven.     Madame  George,  the 

^  Extract  from  a  letter  from  Varennes,  August  3,  1791. — Pages  nouvelles 
8ur  Varrestation  de  Louis  X  VI,  by  Armand  Bourgeois. 


VARENNES  AFTER  THE   DRAMA 

deputy's  wife,  Citizen  Hannonet,  the  Mayor's  brother,  and 
Destez,  the  renegade  '^udge,  received  threatening  letters  from 
Luxembourg  :  "  The  day  of  vengeance  will  be  cruel  for  regi- 
cide Varennes.  Everything  will  be  destroyed.  Varennes, 
miserable  Varennes,  thou  shalt  be  delivered  up  to  the  fury  of 


THB  TOWER  OF  ST.  GKNGOULT  AND  THE  "BRAS  D*OB "  INN  AT  VARENNBS. 


the  Austrian  soldier,  led  by  the  generous  Bouille  !  Over  thy 
ruins  the  plough  shall  pass ! "  ^  This  was  the  desire  of  all 
faithful  royalists.  "  I  hope  that  an  example  will  soon  be  made 
of  Varennes,"  wrote  Fersen.  And  the  peasants  and  humbler 
members  of  the  community,  to  whom  Drouet's  exploit  had 
been  very  costly  and  had  brought  no  return,  indulged  in  loud 
denunciations  while  they  awaited  these  inevitable  disasters. 
During  the  first  days  of  the  spring  of  1792  the  panic  in- 
creased twofold,  for  by  certain  sure  signs  it  was  foretold  that 
1  National  Archives,  D.  XXIXb,  38. 

321  Y 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

the  "  great  catastrophe '"'  was  at  hand.  The  enemy  was  fifteen 
leagues  from  Varennes ;  the  town  was  undefended  ;  "  the 
emigres  were  well  aware  of  its  state  of  distress,  and  passed 
through  it  with  a  degree  of  audacity  that  could  hardly  be 
imagined.*"  The  Varennois  were  now  persuaded  that  Duportail 
the  Minister  had  "  sold  them  to  their  executioners,*"  since  he 
had  left  them  with  barely  a  hundred  muskets  for  five  or  six 
hundred  national  guards.  For  none  of  the  promises  of  the 
much-abused  decree  had  been  fulfilled ;  there  were  "  neither 
muskets,  nor  guns,  nor  troops.*"  Varennes  had  received  nothing. 
"This  overwhelming  state  of  things  is  reducing  the  inhabitants 
to  despair ;  they  are  all  taking  the  serious  step  of  deserting 
their  melancholy  dwellings.  Fifty-two  families  have  already 
left  the  houses  where  they  were  born,  and  others  have  packed 
their  possessions  into  bags  and  boxes  and  are  preparing  to 
drop  a  final  tear  on  their  poor  household  gods.*"  ^ 

Not  one  of  the  magistrates  or  officers  who  contributed  "  to 
the  disaster  of  June  21st "  retained  the  confidence  of  the 
people  of  Varennes.  Radet,  wise  Radet,  who  advised  that 
"  the  King  should  be  allowed  to  fly,****  had  become  the  tutelary 
god  of  his  distracted  fellow-citizens.  On  the  15th  February 
1792  he  was  appointed  commandant  of  th^  National  Guard  ; 
on  the  16th  March,  major  of  the  local  battalion ;  and  on  the 
25th  of  June  he  was  nearly  unanimously  elected  adjutant- 
general  and  chef  de  legion.  And  now  it  is  the  last  day  of 
August,  and  down  there  towards  the  east  there  is  a  rumbling 
sound  not  unlike  the  noise  of  distant  thunder.  What  can  it 
be  ?  the  people  ask  in  terror.  It  is  the  noise  of  the  enemy*'s 
guns  bombarding  Verdun.  The  whole  night  this  ominous 
roar  continued,  but  on  the  morning  of  Saturday  the  1st  of 
September  it  suddenly  ceased,  and  on  the  following  day  came 
the  news  of  the  capitulation  of  the  town.  The  last  defence  of 
Varennes  was  gone  :  there  was  nothing  to  do  but  to  prepare 
to  die.  On  the  morning  of  the  5th,  Radet,  who  had  gone  to 
visit  his  fields  at  Avocourt,  saw  some  hostile  troops  advancing 
along  the  road  from  Esnes.  He  hastened  back  to  Varennes, 
gave  the  alarm,  put  a  stop  to  the  threshing  in  the  barns, 
locked  up  the  latter,  and  took  his  wife  and  many  other  people 
*  Victor  Fournel,  U l^v^neTnent  de  Varennes. 


VARENNES  AFTER  THE  DRAMA 

into  the  woods.  ^  Then  he  humed  back  to  the  town  and 
buried  in  his  garden  the  supply  of  powder  and  shot  that  was 
kept  in  the  convent  of  the  Cordeliers.  On  the  next  day  the 
Prussians  crossed  the  bridge  over  the  Aire  and  formally 
occupied  the  deserted  town.  Their  first  visit  was  to  the 
town  hall,  where  they  took  possession  of  the  flag  of  honour, 
which  was  sent  to  Berlin  as  a  trophy.^ 

Radet  spared  no  pains  in  treating  the  invaders  well  and  in 
negotiating  with  the  officers  in  command.  The  conquerors, 
however,  had  no  thought  of  massacres  or  reprisals ;  and  the 
pious  women  of  Varennes  told  a  tale  according  to  which  this 
unexpected  deliverance  was  due  to  a  miracle.  As  the 
Germans  marched  into  the  town  a  Prussian  soldier  had 
thrown  a  ham-bone  that  he  had  just  been  gnawing  at  the 
fine  statue  of  the  Virgin  that  adorns  the  tower  of  Saint- 
Gengoult.  The  statue  held  out  its  hand  to  receive  the 
missile,  and  fixed  it  firmly  under  its  arm,  where  the 
people  of  the  town  were  very  careful  to  leave  it.^  The  next 
day  the  Prussian  was  drowned  at  Auzeville. 

The  inhabitants  gi-adually  became  reassured,  and  decided  to 
return  to  their  houses.  The  Prussians,  it  appeared,  were 
rapacious  but  not  cruel,  and  moreover  their  sojourn  in  the 
place  was  short.  After  the  battle  of  Valmy  they  hastily 
packed  their  baggage  and  re-crossed  the  Meuse,  and  were  seen 
no  more  for  twenty-two  years. 

Varennes  took  up  its  life  once  more.  The  convents  of  the 
Annonciades  and  the  Cordeliers  were  demolished,  and  the 
materials  used  for  the  building  of  new  houses ;  the  Archway 
was  destroyed,  and  the  Place  de  Latry  levelled  and  cleared  of 
the  tombstones  "  which  in  1791  lay  here  and  there  *  over  the 
ground,""  recalling  the  fact  that  "  since  Merovingian  times "" 
this  spot  had  been  used  as  a  cemetery.    The  municipality  sold 

*  M^moires  du  G^nAral  Radet,  p.  47. 

2  This  flag  is  now  in  the  royal  arsenal  at  Berlin  :  upon  the  banner  are 
two  white  stripes  in  the  form  of  a  cross,  on  a  background  of  red  and  blue ; 
in  the  centre  an  embroidered  crown  of  oak-leaves  surrounds  a  sheaf  sur- 
mounted by  a  Phrygian  cap  with  two  horns  of  plenty.  Inscription  :  From 
a  grateful  country  to  the  town  of  Varennes. 

^  The  bone  remained  there  for  more  than  half  a  century.  When  it 
disappeared  "anew  bone  was  given  to  the  statue  to  replace  the  other." 
— Maniiscrit  CoiUonvaux. 

*  Ibid. 

32S  y  2 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  MARIE  ANTOINETTE 

the  lands  of  the  two  foundations  presented  to  it  by  the 
National  Assembly,  and  the  ground  that  had  once  been  the 
enclosure  of  the  Cordeliers  became  the  Pdquis  ^  of  the  town. 
Varennes  had  at  last  received,  if  not  the  muskets,  at  least  the 
two  guns  that  had  been  promised  by  the  decree  :  but  they 
remained  unused  throughout  the  Revolution,  which  here  was 
not  sanguinary,  but  merely  dull.  The  Varennois,  from  1793 
to  1804,  seem  to  have  been  in  the  state  of  depression  and 
debility  that  follows  on  crises  of  too  great  violence. 
Napoleon,  who  "  owed  them  his  crown,"  as  one  of  them  said, 
showed  them  but  scant  gratitude :  he  confiscated  the  two 
guns  on  the  pretext  of  having  them  recast,  and  took  them 
away  to  Verdun,  whence  they  never  returned.  No  one 
protested;  there  was  a  feeling  that  soon  the  hour  would 
strike  when  mementoes  of  the  21st  of  June  would  become 
compromising.^ 

In  1814  their  fears  were  renewed  by  the  Restoration. 
This  time  they  unblushingly  abjured  the  glorious  past,  their 
terror  of  Prussian  reprisals  being  now  succeeded  by  dread  of 
the  Bourbons'  revenge.  The  best  thing  they  could  do,  they 
imagined,  was  to  send  a  deputation  to  Louis  XVIII,  to 
express  their  desire  for  forgiveness  and  their  apologies  "  for 
what  had  occurred  in  the  past.""  The  delegates  of  the  penitent 
town  were  received  in  the  Tuileries  on  the  8th  of  July,  at 
eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning.  The  address  presented  to  the 
King  was  a  beautiful  composition,  and  implored  him  to 
accept  graciously  the  profound  regrets  of  the  town  of 
Varennes,  "  where  the  first  links  had  been  forged  of  that 
terrible  and  cruel  chain  whose  weight  had  overwhelmed  the 
whole  of  France."  Louis  XVIII  assured  them  that  he  knew 
"his  brother  had  had  reason  to  praise  the  sentiments  of  a 


^  Feeding-ground  for  game,  or  pasturage. 

'  After  1830  the  people  of  Varennes  claimed  their  guns,  which  could 
not  be  found.  Louis  Philippe  sent  them  instead  two  large  guns  taken 
from  the  arsenals  of  Metz  or  Verdun  ;  and  as  no  place  was  prepared  for 
their  reception,  they  found  shelter  in  the  barn  of  the  priest's  house.  "  In 
1861  Napoleon  III  passed  through  Clermont  on  his  way  to  Metz.  One  of 
the  '  notables '  of  Varennes  cried  out,  *  Vive  la  MpuUique,  one  and 
indivisible  ! '  The  Emperor,  who  was  about  to  speak,  sat  down  again ; 
but  Varennes  was  once  more  deprived  of  its  guns,  which  it  never  saw 
again,  and  its  company  of  artillery  was  broken  up." — Manuscrit  Covlonvaux. 

2>M 


VARENNES   AFTER  THE   DRAMA 

large  number  of  the  inhabitants,"'  and  he  added :  "  That  is 
the  only  thing  I  shall  remember." 

This  forgetfulness  was  promised  all  the  more  willingly  that 
all  who  had  played  parts  in  the  drama  to  which  Louis  XVIII, 
no  less  than  Napoleon,  owed  his  crown,  had  died  or  disap- 
peared. Many  of  them  had  had  tragic  ends.  Madame 
Sauce,  as  we  have  seen,  threw  herself  down  a  well  in  a 
panic ;  Guillaume,  Drouet's  companion,  drowned  himself  in 
the  cistern  of  a  hovel  where  he  was  living  like  a  hermit  on 
the  C6te-le-Roi,  near  Sainte-Menehould  ;  Roland,  the  major 
of  the  Varennes  Guard,  who  had  fired  his  pistol  at  Goguelat, 
lost  his  reason,  and  in  his  madness  continually  went  through 
the  motions  of  taking  aim  at  an  invisible  foe  ;  Signemont,  the 
Knight  of  St.  Louis  who  was  deputed  to  organise  the  King''s 
return,  was  found  half  eaten  by  wolves  in  the  forest  of 
Argonne  on  the  Lachalade  side.  When  his  body  was  taken 
back  to  Neuvilly  his  wife  refused  to  acknowledge  it  as  his  or 
to  receive  it  in  her  house.^  These  dramatic  events,  occurring 
one  after  the  other,  made  an  unpleasant  impression  upon  the 
survivors,  and  the  people  of  Varennes  did  not  care  to  speak  of 
"  the  great  affair."  Even  those  whose  enthusiasm  had  carried 
them  the  whole  way  to  Paris  in  the  train  of  the  captive  King 
had  given  up  boasting  of  their  exploit.  Many  of  them  had 
refused  the  compensation  that  they  were  to  have  received  for 
their  expedition,  but  in  spite  of  their  self-denial  the  journey 
to  Varennes  was  a  heavy  burden  on  the  public  funds.  The 
Treasury  paid,  for  the  incidental  expenses  of  this  escapade, 
242,305  francs,  24  sols,  14  deniers.^ 

But  it  cost  the  King  and  the  monarchy  even  more. 

1  Gabriel,  Louis  X  VI  et  le  Marquis  de  BouilU. 
^  National  Archives,  M.  664. 


325 


INDEX 


1 


r 


I 


INDEX 


Abbate  Prison,  the,  76  n  2,  278. 

Ackerman,  M.,  banker,  296. 

Acloque,  M.,  brewer,  177. 

Affry,  Major  Gen.  d',  172. 

Aiguillon,  M.  d',  173. 

Aire,  the,  304  and  n  ^. 

Allonville,  M,  d',  153. 

Amboise,  M,  de  Clermont,  d',  173. 

Amnesty,  the,  9. 

Ancelon,   E.  A.,  247  and  n^;  La 

V6r%U  mr  la  Fuite,  62  n  2,  63  n  ^ 

91  w  2,   142  7t  1 ;  Louis  X  VL  at 

Varennes,  76. 
Andoins,  Jean  Simon  Etienne  d', 

commands  the  dragoons  at  Sainte- 

Menehould,  60-66,  227,  228  n  2 ; 

receives  de  Choiseul's  note,  229. 
Angouleme,  Due  d' — 

Arrest    of,     263;     kindness     to 
Radet,  265. 
Angouleme,  Duchesse  d'.   Relation 

du  voyage  de    Vareiines,  30  n  '\ 

32  n  3,  5. 
Annonciades,  Convent  of  the,  310, 

317,  318  n  \  323. 
Arenberg,  M.  d',  173. 
Argentin,  L',  horse  of  M.  deBriges, 

121  n  \ 
Argonne,  forest  of,  66-7,  132,  325. 
Argonne,  invasion  of,  180,  247. 
Aristarquet  the,  18  w. 
Arlon,  289. 

Amould,  postillion,  68,  76. 
Artois,  Comte  d',  177. 
Artois,  Rue  d',  224. 
Aubr6,     M.,     account     of     Marie 

Antoinette  in  prison,  295  n  2. 
Aubriot,  M. ,  report  of,  54  and  n  2, 

86  w  1,  226  71  \ 
Audrd,  M.  de,  103,  180. 


Aumont,  Due  d',  attacked  by  the 

mob,  108  and  n  ^. 
Autie,  Jean  Francois,  see  Leonard. 
Autie,  Joseph  Clair  Auguste,  234. 
Auve,  58,  131,  154-5. 
Auz6ville,  village  of,  67,  323. 
Avaray,  M.  d',  30. 
Avocourt,  256. 

Babeup,  conspiracy  of,  278. 

Bac,  M.  Ferdinand,  271  n  2. 

Bac,  Rue  du,  19,  36  n  ^ 

Bachaumont,  M6moires,  25  n\ 

Bailly,  M. ,  Mayor  of  Paris,  27  n  2, 
104,  105,  109,  177  and  n  \ 

Balbi,  Mme.  de,  288-9. 

Bancal,  correspondence  with  Mme. 
Roland,  103  n  \  110. 

Bar,  212,  280. 

Bar,  Mme.  de,  31. 

Bardre,  M^moireSy  169,  172  n  ^ 

Barnave,  M. — 
Appointed  Commissioner,  180-7 ; 
escorts  the  royal  party,  187- 
218,  292;  Rdgnard  de  I'Isle 
and,  201-2  ;  report,  217  n  ^  ; 
returns  to  the  Assembly, 
218-19. 

Baron,  postillion,  68. 

Barr6,  Abb6,  cited,  162  n  \ 

Barry,  Mme.  du,  1. 

Barthe,  constable,  90. 

Barth61my,  E.  de,  52  n  2. 

Baudot,  Marc  Antoine,  Notes  His- 
t&riques,  283  n  1,  285  n  ^ 

Bavay,  288. 

Bayon,  M. — 
The  pursuit,  105,  117  w  »,  118- 
129 ;   overtaken   by    Romeuf   at 
ChMons,      129  ;        at      Sainte- 


329 


INDEX 


M^nehould,  131 ;  Clermont, 
133-4;  Varennes,  135-8;  the 
meeting  with  the  King,  139-40  ; 
commands  the  mob,  152,  164 ; 
his  reward,  319  w. 

Bazoche,  M.  Charles,  240  n. 

Beauchesne,  Louis  X  VII,  121  n  ^. 

Beaug6,   Louis  Joachim,   page,  98 
and  n  ^. 

Beauharnais,  M. — 

President  of  the  Assembly,  104, 
111-12,  115;  proposes  hearing 
M.  de  Laporte,  168-70;  takes 
the  military  oath,  177 ;  nom- 
inates the  six  commissioners, 
215. 

Beaulieu,  Abbey  of,  280. 

Beaumaine,     coflfee-house     keeper, 
316. 

Beauvau,  company  of,  26  n  *i  °,  27. 

Beauvert,  Mme.  de,  duties,  25  and 
n  ^. 

Bedu,  Sieur,  319  n. 

B6gis,  Alfred,  234. 

Bel,    Jeanne  le,    wife  of    Drouet, 
267. 

Bellet,  Mme.,  89. 

Bellevue,  Hotel,  Brussels,  290. 

Belval-Piesvaux,  280. 

Bercq,  retainer  of  the  Queen,  216. 

Bergstadt,  charg4  cf  affaires,  291. 

Berlin,  the  Varennes  flag  taken  to, 
323  and  n  ^^ 

Berline,  the,  description,  47-8. 

Berthelin,  M.,  49  n. 

Bertrand,  Jean,  pursues  the  berline, 
69,  70. 

Be8an9on,  264,  265. 

Besenval,  soldier,  7. 

Biauzat,  115. 

Biesme,  hill  of,  67,  257. 

Bigault,  J.  B.,  74,  n. 

Bimbenet,  M.  Eugene — 

Pieces  Justificatives,  11  w  ^,  16  w  ^,  ^, 
20  w  4,  25  w  i-S  28  n  \  ^,  30  n  », 
33  n\  36/1  ^  42  n  ^  4,  44  n  \ 
46  w  1,  48  w  \  50  n  %  99  w^,  \ 
101  w  2,  287  w  2 ;  La  fuite,  9  and 
n\  \  10  w  \  166  w  2,  177^1,2^ 
306  n  3. 

Blanc,  Louis,  cited,  8  w,  211. 

Blandin,  labourer,  138. 

Bodan,   M.,    106,   314  n\    Compte 
rendu,  203  n  ^. 

Bonaparte,  Napoleon — 

Pius  VII.,  arrest  of,  252  ;  Radet 
and,  258  ;   the  march  to   Paris, 


263  ;  Drouet  and,  279 ;  and  the 

Varennois,  324. 
Bon- Avis,  293. 
Bondy,  44  aiid  n  1,  118,  210,  225, 

287  and  n  1. 
Borde,  Mme.  de  la,  25  w  *. 
Bossuet,  Palace  of,  203-8. 
Bouchain,  293. 
Boucher,  footman,  225. 
Boudet,  M. ,  Lieut. ,  227  n. 
Boufflers,  Comtesse  de,  2  n  ^  2^ 
Bouill6,  Chevalier  de — 

At    the    Grand    Monarque,    77, 

79  n^,  %\n  \  145,  228  w  2,  230  ; 

interview    with     Leonard,     230 

and  n  ^. 
Bouill6,  Count  Louis  de,  M^moires, 

81  n\lUn  2,  230  n  h  %  232  n\^, 

304  n  2,  305  n  \ 
Bouill6,  General,  the  Marquis  de — 

Arrangements  for  the  flight,  6; 

14,    16,   17  n  \   30,  54,  55  n  \ 

cavalry   arrangements,   47,    183, 

228  n  2,  231,  245,  256,  321 ;  his 

orders  read  before  the  Assembly, 

179-80;  Mme.  Elizabeth's  jewels, 

232  ;    meets    Fersen,    289  ;    the 

arrival  at  Varennes,  303 ;  hears 

of  the  arrest,  304  ;  leaves  France, 

305-6. 
Bouill6,  Rene  de,  Essai  sur  la  vie, 

e<c.,304w^. 
Bourbon,  Rue  de,  103. 
Boureuilles,  145. 
Bourgeois,  Armand,  320  n  ^. 
Bourlois,  136. 
Bras  d'Or  inn,  Varennes,  78,  79,  82, 

84,  88,  91,  137,  242,  268,  275  n  \ 
Braschi,  Jean  Ange,  see  Pius  VI., 

Pope. 
Breteuil,  Baron  de,  6,  295  n  2,  298. 
Brette,  Armand — 

Histoire  des  Edifices,  114  n^  ;  Le 

local   des    assemblies  parliamen- 

taires,  178  w  ^ ;  Journal  de  Paris, 

315. 
Briges,  Comte  de — 

Journey  of,  121  and  n  1, 122-123 ; 

stopped  at  Chaintrix  by  Bayon, 

123 ;  horse  of,  209. 
Brionne,  Hotel  de,  40. 
Brisebarre,  officer,  99. 
Brisack,  James,  postillion,  narrative, 

76-8,  78  w  1,  79  w  S  302  and  n  2, 

306  n  2,  309  n  \ 
Brissac,  M.  de,  100. 
Brown,  house-porter,  23. 


330 


INDEX 


Brunier,  Mme. ,  25  and  n  ^  30  and 

n  \  32,  35  and  n  %  36,  42  n  =*,  46, 

82,  88,  138. 
Brunier,   Pierre  Edouard,   25  n  ^ 

242,  268. 
Briinn,  Drouet  imprisoned  at,  276-8. 
Brussels,   the    cage  of  Drouet  at, 

274. 
Buirette,  see  Burette. 
Burette,   Histoire  de  Sainte-M^ne- 

hmUd,  131  wi,  150  wi. 
Bussi6res,  49. 

Cadet,     commanding     officer     at 

Varennes,  136. 
Cain,  M.  G.,  49  n. 
Cambrai,  293. 
Campan,  Mme.  ,M4moire8y  8  w,  18  ?i  ^ 

22  n  \  210  n  \  219  n\220n\ 
Campardon,   Le  Tribunaly  27  w  ^; 

tables  of,  236. 
Camus,  M.,  112,  113,  114  w^. 
Canitrot,  Mme. ,  68  and  n  *,  75. 
Carr6,  Sieur,  319  n. 
Carrousel,  the,  23,  26,  34,  100,  101, 

292,  294  w  1 ;  the  Petit,  40,  42, 

292. 
Cavalerie,    Anne,    wife    of    Sauce, 

239  n  1. 
Cazotte,  J.  S. ,  Temoignage,  202  n  ^ 
Cazotte,  Jacques,  ^/«,  protects  the 

royal   family,     162-3,    163   n   », 

164. 
Cervisier,  valet,  74. 
Cette,  264. 
Chabrond,   M.,    President    of    the 

Assembly,  178,  180. 
Chaintrix,   50-1,   51  n  \   52,  123, 

125. 
Chaledon,   Mme.,   letter  to  Mme. 

Husson,  285. 
Chalier,  Abb^,  cur6  of  Notre  Dame 

de  I'Epine,  159. 
Chalons,    47,    52-5,    152-161,   226, 

292. 
Champ  de  la  F6d6ration,  315. 
Champagne,  the  peasants  of,  183. 
Champs-Elys^es,  212,  214,  315. 
Chanoine,  Sieur,  149  n  ^. 
Chapuy,    Antoinette,   see   Brunier, 

Mme. 
Charinet,  Captain,  267  n  2. 
Chariot  (Charles  Moreau),  quarter- 
master, 311  and  n  ^. 
Charnay,  281. 
Charpentry,  303. 
Chateau-Thierry,  182,  198. 


Chateaubrun,  de,  tale  of,  235-6. 
Chatillon,  hills  of,  188. 
Chauss^e  d'Antin,  43. 
Chauveau,     Citizen    Jean     Louis, 

251. 
Chenier,  Andre,  death  of,  234. 
Chepy,  vineyards  of,  135,  245  ;  hill 

of,  145. 
Chevalot,  Sieur,  317. 
Chevreau,  Nicolas,  28  n  *. 
Choiseul,  Due  de — 
Disposition  of  the  hussars,  14,  47, 
54,    55,    56,    65-6,    69,   70,    85, 
226  n  \  228,   254 ;    Relation  du 
depart  de  Louis  XVI.,  40  n  ^, 
41 71 2,  42  n  h\  58  n»,  68  n  %  1Sn\ 
85  n  2, 3,  S6n\  88 w^  91  n \  92n\ 
116  ni,  125  n  2,  135  w  S  136  w  2, 
137  »  \  142  w  2,  224  w  \  %  225  n  1, 
228  w  1, 2  302 ,1 1;  in  Sauce's  house, 
89,  138, 143-4  ;  conducts  Leonard 
to   Pont-de-Somme-Vesle,  224-8  ; 
arrested,  302,  306;    sent  on  to 
Verdun,  309. 
Chorez,    M.,    mayor    of    Chalons, 

53,  128,  157  and  n  \ 
Chouilly,  162. 

Christian  Augustus,  Prince,  299. 
Claye,  35  and  n  2,  37,  46,  116,  117, 

119,  210,  225  wi. 
Clermont-en-Argonne,    47,   54,    65, 
67-9,  133,  146-8,  179,  318  n  i;  the 
Tribunal,  253. 
Clichy,  Rue  de,  20,  43 ;  Barrier  of, 

43  n  \ 
Cochou,  M.,  88. 
Collet,  Sieur,  66  n  1,  319  n. 
Collor6do,  Prince,  271. 
Coloson,  Mme.,  151  n  ^. 
Combier,  A.,  M^moires  dti  Q6n6ral 
Radet,  85  n  S  137  n  %  251  n  \ 
255  n\ 
Compi^gne,  288. 

Comte,  Pierre  le,  coachman,  19  n  ^. 
Comtoir,  Jean  Pierre,  94. 
Conches,  M.  Feuillet  de,  121  n  ^. 
Cond6,  Prince  de,  27,  62,  166. 
Condets,  Faubourg  de,  200. 
Constant,  M.,  mayor  of  Rouvrois, 

248. 
Constant,     Pierre    Gervais,    lamp- 
lighter, 99. 
Constitutional  Committee,  the,  317. 
Comtitutionel,  the,  284. 
Contrescarpe-Dauphine,  Rue,  106. 
Coquillard,     Sieur,    80,     88,    136, 
319  71. 


INDEX 


Cordeliers,  Convent  of  the,  73  and 

n  2,  75,  317,  318  n  \  323. 
CoroUer,  M.,  deputy,  215,  217. 
Corrupt,  town  of,  280. 
Coulonvaux,  M.  Antonin  Amable, 

Manuacrit  de,   85  n  ^,    311   w  ^ 

323  n  3,  \  Z'2A  n  \ 
Courtois,  colleague  of  Drouet,  280. 
Courty,  Rue  de,  103. 
Courville,  Abb6  de,  30. 
Couteulx,  M.  le,  215. 
Crawfurd,  Quintin,  14  and  n  \  43. 
Creutz,  Comte  de,  2-4. 
Crillon,  M.  de,  173. 
Croy,  Prince  de,  166. 
Curmer,  Lieut.,  115. 
Custine,  M.  de,  173. 

Dacier,  M.,  deputy,  268  n  2. 

DaflFy,  killed,  294  n  i. 

Damas,  Colonel,  the  Comte  Chas. 
de- 
Disposition  of  the  dragoons,  47, 
57,  67-9,  227,  254  ;  reports  him- 
self to  the  King,  89  and  n^,  138  ; 
disarmed  at  Clermont,  133  ;  the 
return  from  Varennes,  143-4 ; 
narrative,  67  n  \  68  n  h  ^  70  n  i, 
89  71 1,  91  w  1,  125  n  \  228  n  \  229 
and  n  ^;  receives  Choiseul's  note, 
229  ;  arrested  by  the  mob,  302, 
306 ;  sent  to  Verdun,  309. 

Dammartin  la  Planchette,  154. 

Dampierre,  Comte  de,  assassinated, 
153-4,  154  n  S  190,  292. 

Daubiez,  296  n. 

Dauchy,  M.,  Ill,  172,  178. 

Daudet,  M.  Ernest,  14  n  ^. 

Dauphin,  M.  le,  incidents  of  the 
journey,  31,  32,  34  and  n,  162-3, 
195,  198,  202, 209, 210-11, 214  n  \ 
216,  217  and  n  ^. 

De  la  Lune  tavern,  58. 

Decaze,  M.,  279. 

D6grelette,  Abb6,  280. 

Delagardie,  Comtesse  Hedvig,  1  w  ^. 

Delavigne,  M.,  114. 

Delion-Drouet,  Sieur,  78,  80,  319  n. 

Desbille,  wine  merchant,  118. 

Desclaux,  Louis  Jean  Marie,  page, 
37,  38  and  n  %  107  n  2. 

Deslon,  Major,  303  and  n  ^,  304  n  ^j 
narrative,  52  n^,  56  n  ^. 

Destez,  M.  Jacques — 
Recognises  the  King,  86-88,  87  n  1, 
136  ;  the  Varennes  report,  312  ; 
receives  threatening  letters,  321. 


Destez,  Mme.,  87  n  S  letters  cited, 
74  n,  87,  142  n  \  244,  301  n  \ 
306  n  3,  308  n  \  312. 

Deuillon,  Sieur,  of  Chalons,  157  n  ^. 

Devillay,  M.,  president  of  Clermont, 
146. 

Diavolo,  Fra,  the  arrest  of,  258. 

Dillon,  General,  257. 

Dodo,  Josephine,  wife  of  Francois 
Clement  Sauce,  239  n  ^ 

Dormans,  182,  184,  193,  196,  197. 

Drouet,  Claude  Fran9ois,  267  n  2, 
280. 

Drouet,  Jean  Baptists — 

Postmaster  at  Sainte-M^nehould, 
60,  62  and  n  2,  64  and  n^ ;  the 
recognition,  127-8  ;  the  pursuit, 
65,  68  n  \  69,  76  and  n  '^  78,  79 
arid  n  ^,  82,  148;  Sauce  con- 
founded with,  248  and  n  ^ ;  chil- 
dren of,  267  n  2,  personality, 
267-8;  before  the  Assembly, 
268-269,  268  n^;  votes  for  the 
King's  death,  269  and  n  ^  ;  cap- 
tured by  the  Austrians,  269-274  ; 
the  cage  at  Brussels,  273-4 ; 
Person's  account,  274-6 ;  im- 
prisonment at  Brunn,  276-8 ;  re- 
turn to  Paris,  278  ;  escape  from 
the  Abbaye,  278  and  n  ^ ;  Napo- 
leon and,  279  ;  police  search  for, 
279-81  ;  subsequent  history, 
281-6 ;  ovation  in  Paris,  315 ; 
pecuniary  reward,  318  and  n  ^, 

Drouet,  Joachim  Nicholas,  267  n  ^. 

Drouet,  Victor  Auguste,  279. 

Druard,  Jean  Louis,  88  n  ^,  138. 

Dubois,  Philippe,  101-2,  101  n  2. 

Duchesne,  groom,  121. 

Dufay,  Lieut.,  106. 

Dumas,  Alexandre,  73  n  ^. 

Dumas,  General  Mathieu — 

Appointed  Commissioner,  180- 
187 ;  escorts  the  royal  party, 
188-218 ;  Souvenirs,  193  andn\  % 
201  n  \  206  n  \  208,  209  n'^ 

Dumont,  Histoire  de  Sainte-Mihiely 
248  wi. 

Dumoulin,  Sieur,  281. 

Dumouriez,  capture  of  Paris,  295. 

Duperrier,  Jean  Antoine,  page,  38 
and  n  ^. 

Dupin,  M.,  mayor  of  Sainte-M6ne- 
hould,  132,  150. 

Dupont,  M., deputy, 215,  217 andnK 

Dupont,  M.  L.  F.,  signs  the  Va- 
rennes decree,  319  n. 


332 


INDEX 


Duport,  Minister  of  Justice — 
Refuses  the  memorial,   168  ;  de- 
parture   of    the     commissioners, 
181  ;    commission  to  Marie  An- 
toinette, 219. 

Duportail,  M.,  minister,  322 

Durand,  name  taken  by  Louis  XVI, 
46. 

Durey,  valet,  27. 

"Durfort,  Duchesse  de,"  43. 

EcHELLE,  Rue  de  1',  40. 

Elbecq,  M.  d',  173. 

Elizabeth,  Mme.,  23,  26,  29,  32, 
35  n  \  223— 
The  flight,  37,  38,  40-2,  46,  89 ; 
in  Sauce's  house,  138,  242;  the 
departure  from  Varennes,  143, 
144 ;  and  Sign6mont,  147 ;  the 
return,  150,  157,  161  n\  162, 
189,  190,  205,  214  n  \  216 ;  and 
Potion,  188,  192-3,  200,  209, 
216-17  ;  and  Jean  Landrieux, 
194-5 ;  and  the  commissioners, 
219 ;  mystery  of  the  jewels,  227, 
228  w  2,  232,  237. 

:^pemay,  161-164. 

Epinal,  Roussel  d',  98  n  ^ 

Espense,  Le  Bois  d',  280. 

Esterhazy,  Count  Valentine,  corre- 
spondence with  Marie  Antoinette, 
13-14. 

Estourmel,  M.  d'.  Souvenirs,  234-6. 

6toges,  49,  122. 

Etoile,  L',  214. 

Eugene,  Prince,  258. 

Faillette,  M.,  landlord  of  the 
Soleil  d'Or,  60-2,  151  and  n  \ 

Farcy,  M.,  64-65. 

F6neaux,  Sieur,  319  n. 

F6reaux,  the  brewer,  257-8. 

Ferme  de  Paris,  198. 

Ferri^res,  cited,  18  n. 

Fer8en,F.  M.,  Frederic  Axel,  Comte 
de,  1  7^^  2n\289n\ 

Fersen,  Jean  Axel,  Comte  de — 
Attachment  to  Marie  Antoinette, 
1  et  seq.  ;  appointments  of,  5  ;  the 
letters  to  the  Unknown,  9-12; 
correspondence  with  Marie  An- 
toinette, 12-14,  290,  294  and  n  ^  ; 
arrangements  for  the  flight,  14-21, 
28-45;  Journal,  16  n^  19  w^, 
20  n  2,  289  and  n  \  291-4,  295  n  ^ . 
correspondence  with  Bouill^, 
17  w  ^ ;    leaves  the  berline,   45, 


287 ;  rumours  regarding,  166, 
207-8 ;  visits  Drouet  in  prison, 
274-6,  295  w2  ;  the  ride  to  Valen- 
ciennes, 287-8  ;  hears  of  King's 
arrest,  289-90 ;  letters  quoted, 
289  n  1,  3,  321  ;  secret  visit  to 
Paris,  291-4 ;  sorrow  at  the 
Queen's  death,  297-8  ;  subsequent 
history,  299-300 ;  see  also  Klinc- 
kowstrom,  Le  Comte  de  Fersen. 

Figaro,  the,  14  n  ^. 

Fischbach,  G.,  La  fuite  de  Louis 
XVI,  66,  131n2,3^244ni. 

FitzJames,  Comte,  275. 

Fitz  James,  Duchesse  de,  4,  296  w, 
298. 

Five  Hundred,  Council  of  the, 
269. 

Flandre,  Mme.,  laundress,  166. 

Floirac,  Lieut. — 
Arrest  by  the  mob,  302 ;  sent  on 
to  Verdun,  309. 

Florentin,  Captain,  93  and  n  *,  136. 

Foil,  Mile,  de,  2  n  ^ 

Fontaine,  wood  merchant,  297  n. 

Fontanges,  Mgr,  de,  narrative, 
41  n  ^  53  n  \  71  n  \  189  n  \ 
190  n  \  192  n  \ 

Foucher,  Sieur,  319  n. 

Foucq,  Adjutant,  89. 

Fouet,  Sieur,  149  w  ^ 

Fouger,  Lieut.  Louis,  95  and  n  *. 

Fouquet,  T.  B.,  99. 

Fournel,  Marie  Jeanne,  see  Sauce, 
Mme. 

Fournel,  Victor — 

Le  patriote  Palloy,  dec. ,  313  n  ^ ; 
U  £v4nement  de  Varennes, 
18  n,  28  n  2,  53  n  \  16  n  \ 
82  n  2,  134  ni,  137  w2,  148  n  \ 
246  ni,  312n3,  315ni,317n2. 

Foumier,  labourer,  119. 

Francheville  at  Maubeuge,  269. 

Frt^min,  postmaster  at  Bondy, 
130  n  1. 

Fromenti6res,  49  and  n  2,  60,  122. 

Gabriel,  Abb6,  Louis  XVI,  le  M. 

de  B&uilU,  64  w  4,  69  w  ^  71  w  ^ 

79  n  3,  135  n  1,  146  n  \  147  n  \  \ 

325  wi. 
Gaillarbois,  Hotel  du,  40  and  n  2. 
Gaillet,  M.,  cur6  of  Varennes,  310 

and  n  2, 
Gameau,  Mme. ,  19  n. 
Gamier,  constable,  280. 
Gaultier-Biauzat,  deputy,  170. 


333 


INDEX 


Gazette  de  France,  283. 

Genoude,  283. 

Gentil,  Antoine  Philippe,  valet,  98 

and  n  ^  100. 
Gentil,  Sieur,  317. 
Geoffroy,  A. ,  Qustave  III  et  la  Gour 

de  France,  4,  8  n. 
George,  Justin,  captain  of  National 

Guard,    Varennes,    78,    80,    319, 

320. 
George,  M.,  deputy,  128,  317. 
George,  Mine.,  320-321. 
George,  Marie  Rose,  wife  of  Radet, 

253,  264. 
Georges,  Abb6  Etienne,  49  n. 
G6raudel,  P^re,  140-1. 
Gibert,  Berthe,  26  n  ^  129. 
GiflFard,  M.  Pierre,  13  n  «. 
Gillet  and  Radet,  258. 
Giroux,  M.,  263. 

Goguelat,  M.  de,  Assistant  Quarter- 
master General,  6,  54,  55  n  ^,  56, 

60,  69,  75  n,  85,  89,  91,  227  n, 

291. 
Gorsas,  Journal,  17  n  ^ 
Gougenot,   Mme.,   26    n   \   28-9, 

29  n  1,  37,  38  and  n  i,  \ 
Gougenot,  Sieur,  29  n  ^. 
Gourbillon,  M.  de,  30. 
Gourbillon,  Mme.  de,  38. 
Gournai,  293. 
Gouvion,  M. — 

and  Mile.  Rocherette,  18  n,  292, 

293;   and  the  departure,  32  w"*, 

35  n  1,  102-4. 
Goyon,  M.,  mayor  of  Magon,  282, 

286. 
Grammont,  Duchesse  de,  224. 
Grand  Monarque,  Hotel  du,  75-7, 

79  n  3,  230,  241. 
Grand  Montreuil,  Rue  du,  286. 
Grand  Pre,  257. 
Grandmaison,  296  n. 
Granges-aux-Bois,  67. 
Gr^goire,  AhU,  172. 
Gr^goire,  M.,  215. 
Gros-Caillou,  Hopital  du,  110. 
Grouillet,  Mme.,286. 
Guignard  Baths,  the,  36. 
Guilbert,  136. 

Guilhermy,  M.  de,  cited,  214  n  ^ 
Guillaume,  "  La  Hure  "— 

The  pursuit,  65  and  w  ^  69,  76 

and  n  %  77,  78,  82,   148  ;  before 

the  National  Assembly,  268  n  ^  ; 

his  reward,  318,  319   n;  death, 

325. 


Gustave  III. — 
Correspondence  with  the  Com- 
tesse  BouflSers,  2  n  h^;  with 
Comte  de  Creutz,  4 ;  with 
Count  Fersen,  289  n  ^;  journey 
of,  5. 

Gustave  IV,  Adolphus,  deposition, 
299. 

Haas,  Captain  de,  248  n  ^. 
Ham,  288. 

Hannonet,  magistrate,  136,  321. 
Harvey,  Colonel,  274. 
Hausset,     Mme.     du,     M6moires, 
14  w  2. 

Havr6,  Due  d',  279. 
Hermann,  M. ,  27  w  ^. 
H6zecques,  Comte  d',  39  n  ^. 
Holland,  Lord,  M^moires,  8  n. 
Hubert,  Pierre,  page,  23,  97  and  n  \ 

98  and  n  \  107  n  \  \ 
Hugo,  Victor,  87  w  ^ 
Husson,  Mme,  285. 

Isle,  M.  R]6gnard  de  l',  200-202. 
Isle,  Mme.  R^gnard  de  1',  201. 
Itam,  Sieur,  319  n,  320. 

Jacquot,   Marie    Barbe,   wife  of 

Sauce,  249,  250  n  ^. 
Jardin  Boutin,  43. 
Jonn^s,  A.  Moreau  de,  108  n  K 
Joseph,  Prince,  258. 
Journal    des    hommes    libres,    278 

and  n  ^. 

Kellermann,  257. 
Kerv616gan,  M.,  deputy,  202. 
Kilwinnick,  in  Ayr,  14  n  ^. 
Korff,  Baroness  de,  14  and  n  ^,  45 

and  n  %  73. 
Korff,  Colonel  de,  14  n  ^. 
Klinckowstrom,  Baron  R.   M.  de, 

Papers  possessed  by,  8  w,  13  w  *  ; 

Le   Comte  de  Fersen,    \   n  \  Z, 


12  n 


16 


276  n  \  300  n  \ 


18  n,  275  n  \ 


La  Cave,  hamlet  of,  186. 

La  Ferte-sous-Jouarre,  49,  122,  182 

and  n  i,  198,  201-2. 
La  Petite  Villette,  118. 
La  Vendue,  271. 

La  V6rade,  the  lane  of,  142,  255. 
La  Villette,  118  ;   Barrier  of,   43, 

211. 
Laage,  Mme.  de,  225. 


334 


INDEX 


Labaude,  Sieur,  319  n. 

Lacour,  Lieut.,  66. 

Lafayette,  Marquis  de,  19  ?i  i,  27  w  ^  ; 
attends  the  coucher,  39,  40,  42  ; 
hears  of  the  flight,  102-3;  con- 
trols the  mob,  104-9 ;  sends  out 
the  couriers,  108,  112  ;  takes  the 
military  oath,  173  ;  and  the 
commissioners,  181 ;  escorts  the 
royal  party,  211,  216;  m^moires, 
217  w  S  219  w  3  ;  the  Queen  hands 
him  the  keys,  217  ;  and  the 
King's  letters,  218  ;  and  Mangin, 
315. 

Lafontaine,  M.,  106. 

Lagache,  Sieur,  60  w  2,  61  n  \  62 
and  w  3,  63  71 1,  64. 

Lagny,  Claude  de,  50  n  °. 

Lagny,  Jean  Baptiste  de,  50,  123. 

Lagny,  Marie  Anne  de,  see  Vallet, 
Mme. 

Lagny,  Marie  Rose  de,  51. 

Lambert,  the  surgeon,  312. 

Lameth,  M.  Chas.  de,  170,  173,  176. 

Lamotte-Langon,  234. 

Lance,  Sieur,  149  w  ^ 

Landrecies,  288. 

Landrieux,  Jean,  194-5. 

Langres,  Lombard  de,  cited,  236. 

Laporte,  M.  de,  Intendant  of  the 
Civil  List,  168-70. 

Lapotherie,  Sergeant,  89. 

Lasalle,  Henry,  87  n  ^ 

Lasalle,  Marie  Henriette,  see  Destez, 
Mme. 

Latour,  General,  and  Drouet,  271. 

Lauzun,  M. ,  7  and  n  ^. 

Lavoye,  280. 

Le  Bourget,  45,  287  and  n  ^ 

Le  Cateau,  288. 

Le  Chene-Fendu,  farm  of,  186, 
187  and  n  ^. 

Le  Droit,  73  n  2,  74  n. 

Le  Matin,  13  w  ®. 

Le  Moniteur,  274  n  h  \  277  n  \ 

Le  Neuf  Bellay,  155. 

Le  Poitevin  Baths,  36  n  ". 

Le  Quesnoy,  288. 

Lebas,  Pierre,  postillion,  36  and  n  *, 
37  and  n  \  116-117,  116  w  ^ 

Lebel,  Demoiselles,  280. 

Leblanc,  Jean,  keeper  of  the  Bras 
d'Or,  78-80,  318,  319  n. 

Leblanc,  Jean,  Lafayette's  white 
horse,  108-9. 

Leblanc,  Sieur  Paul,  78-80,  319  n. 

Lecomte,  Pierre,  deposition  of  ,20  w^. 


Legay,  Sieur,  66  n  ^  319  n. 
Legrand,  M.,  cur6  of  Saint-Roch, 

316. 
Leigel,  Mile,  de,  6. 
Lemoine,  Sieur,  valet,  39,  40,  97. 
Leniau,  constable,  69,  70,  133  and 

W2,  3. 

Lenio,  Sieur,  319  w. 

Lenoble,  page,  98. 

Leonard,  M.  (le  Marquis) — 

Sketch,  221-3  ;  the  journey  with 
Choiseul,  224-8;  proceeds  with 
Boucher     to     Sainte-M6nehould, 

228  ;  disposal  of  Choiseul's  note, 

229  andn^ ;  interview  with  Bouill6 
Jils,  230  and  n  ^ ;  reaches  Verdun, 

232  ;  subsequent  history,  233  and 
notes,  237. 

Leonard,  the  Chevalier,  221,  234. 

Lepointe,  Sieur,  constable,  319  n. 

Leroy,  L.  L.,procds-verbal,  105. 

Les  Islettes,  village  of,  67,  133. 

Lescure,      Correspondence     Secrete, 
Qn\  107  n  2,  232  n  \ 

Lescuyer,    M.    Joseph    Guillaume, 
217  n  \ 

Leaorts,  Andr6,  281  n  *. 

Levallois,  cook,  206. 

Lev6e,  the,  198. 

L6vis,  Due  de,  37  and  n  2. 

Liancourt,  M.  de,  100. 

Li^ge,  M.  de,  150. 

Limon,  Abb6  de,  275. 

Loger,  Sieur,  149  n  *. 

Lolivrette,  M.,  106. 

Lombard,  M.,  doctor,  141. 

Longprix,  Joseph,  27,  28  n  ^. 

Louis,  Jean,  16  w  2. 

Louis  XV.,  death  of,  2. 

Louis  XV.,  Place,  40,  214. 

Louis  XVL — 
Appointments  for  Count  Fersen, 
6 ;  Gustave  III.  and,  6 ;  and  Mme. 
Rochereuil,  17  n  ^;  preparations 
for  the  flight,  25-8,  30,  31,  35, 
37,  38-42  ;  the  journey,  46  et  seq. ; 
recognised  by  Picard,  49,  by  De 
Lagny,  51  and  n  ^;  at  Chalons, 
52-4;  failure  of  the  hussars  at 
Pont-Somme-Vesle,  55-6 ;  recog- 
nition by  Drouet,  64  and  n  ^; 
Varennes  reached,  70-9 ;  the 
alarm,  80-2 ;  arrival  of  Romeuf 
and  Bayon,  135-143;  in  Sauce's 
house,  83-96,  135-143;  destroy- 
ing the  papers,  141-2 ;  the 
return,     145-164 ;    at    Chalons, 


335 


INDEX 


157-161;  at  Chouilly,  162-4 
the  memorial  read,  170-1 
arrival  of  the  commissioners,  187 
at  Dormans,  193-5  ;  and  Potion, 
196-7,  199,209-10;  and  R6gnard 
de  risle,  200-2;  in  the  palace 
at  Meaux,  204-9 ;  entry  into 
the  Tuileries,  214r-20 ;  letter  to 
Sauce,  247  ;  charge  to  Radet,  255 
and  n  ^;  scruples,  291-2. 

Louis  XVI.,  Pont,  115. 

Louis  XVIII.  {See  also  Monsieur. ) 
221 ;  Varennes  deputation  to, 
324-5. 

Louis  Philippe,  324  n  ^. 

Louvre,  Hotel,  Dormans,  193. 

Lucas,  M.,  deputy,  175. 

Luynes,  Duchesse  de,  222. 

Machet,  Sieur,  156  n  ^. 

Ma9on,  281. 

Maergesse,  Nicolas  S6vMn,  281. 

Maill6,  Mme.  de,  296  n. 

Mailly,  Baron  de.  Souvenirs,  109  n  ^. 

Malaissy,    Marquis  de,     (see    Ma- 

leissye, 
Malaquais,  Quai,  14. 
Maiden,  Jean  Frangois  de — 

The  flight,  26  and  n  \  27    and 

n  \  28,   32,  35,  42  and  n  \  44, 

46,  47,   50,   57,  61,  71,  76;  the 

Queen's   anxiety    for    his  safety 

207-8,  215-16. 
Maleissye,    M.,    Marquis    de,  Mi- 

moires,  35  w  ^,  55  w  ^,  68  n  ^. 
Malouet,  M.,  213. 
Mangin — 

The  ride  to  Paris,  90,  134  and  n  \ 

149, 179,  313-15 ;  reward  to,  318, 

319  w. 
Marchiennes,  293-4. 
Mare,  257. 
Maretz,  288. 
Marie  Tht^r^se  Charlotte  of  France, 

see  Angouleme,  Duchesse  d'. 
Marie-Berthe,  constable,  319  n. 
Marigny,  Rue,  20. 
Marne,  suburbs  of,  52 ;  Pont  de  la, 

182,  198 ;  the  river,  186. 
Marquant,  Louis  Antoine,  page,  23, 

39  and  n  2,  97  and  n  \  \  98  n  \ 

100. 
Martainville,  283. 
Martineau,  M.,  114. 
Mathieu,  Sieur,  of  Chalons,  160  n  K 
Matignon,  Mme.  de,  222. 
Matignon,  Rue,  16  and  n  1,  19,  20. 


Matougues,  161. 

Maubeuge,  siege  of,  269-72. 

Maubourg,  La  Tour,  see  Tour- 
Maubourg. 

Mauchauff6,  M.,  88. 

Maugarni,  280. 

Maurice,  M.,  Oct.,  50  n  '*. 

Mayence,  271. 

Meaux,  Square,  St.  Etienne,  47 ; 
posting  house  at,  118-20;  the 
palace,  203-8  ;  the  return  through, 
203-10. 

Mencke,Chri8tine{Mme.  Normand), 
joins  Drouet,  279,  281,  285-6. 

M6nilmontant,  118. 

Menou,  M.  de,  173,  215. 

Mercy,  M.  de,  3,  121,  n  \  289  n  \ 
290. 

Merle,  secretary,  175. 

Methians,  M.,  cur6  of  Varennes, 
310. 

Metternich,  Comte  de,  275. 

Metz,  53. 

Meunier,  Gerard,  273-4. 

Meunier,  Noel,  locksmith,  95  n  2,  3. 

Michonis,  coffee-house  keeper, 
297  w. 

Millet,  Rue,  116. 

Minerve,  the,  284. 

Minutoli,  General,  248  n  \ 

Miollis,  General,  259. 

Miromesnil,  Rue  de,  20  n  ^. 

Modeste,  cited,  203  n  2,  3^  207  n  K 

Monceau,  Barrier  of,  212. 

Mons,  288. 

Monsieur,  brother  of  Louis  XVI. — 
The  flight,  29-30  ;  narrative, 
29  n  2,  31,  32,  37  and  n^;  Radet 
and,  255  n  ^ ;  arrives  at  Mons, 
288  ;  meets  Fersen  at  Namur, 
290. 

Montblainville,  254,  307-8,  307  n  ^. 

Montesquieu,  M.,  173. 

Montfaucjon,  308  n  ;  quarries  of, 
118  ;  woods  of,  141. 

Montm^dy,  29  n  \  45,  227,  228. 

Montmirail,  226. 

Montmorency,  M.  de,  217  arid  n  '. 

Montmorin,  M.  de,  45  n  \ 

Montreuil-aux-Lions,  198. 

Moras,  woods  of,  50. 

Moreux,  Charles,  see  Chariot. 

Mormal,  forest  of,  288. 

Moustier,  le  Comte  de,  26  and  n  ^ 
Escorts  the  royal  carriage,  20,  44 
and  n  1,  46  and  w  1,  57,  61,  62,  68, 
71,  73  ;  narrative,  47  n'\  4Q  n  "*, 


336 


INDEX 


50  aiid  u  \  58  n  ^,  73  n  '\  75, 
76  n  ^t  81  ;  Relation  du  voyage, 
27  and  w  \  28  and  n  ^  160  n  ^  ; 
Queen's  anxiety  for  safety  of, 
207-8,  215-16. 
Miiller,  officer,  311. 

Nancy,  212. 

Napoleon  III.,  324  71  2. 

National  Assembly,  the — 

Count  Fersen's  designs,  16  ;  meet- 
ing after  the  flight,  110;  dispatch 
of  the  couriers,  113  ;  declared  en 
permanence,  167  ;  the  memorial 
read,  168-72 ;  the  military  oath, 
173-4,  177  and  n  ^ ;  awaiting 
the  news,  174-80  ;  the  com- 
missioners appointed,  180  ;  events 
during  the  return,  212  ;  suspen- 
sion of  the  royal  power,  213  ;  the 
Queen's  statement,  219  ;  com- 
mittee of  inquiries,  243  ;  Drouet 
before,  268-9  ;  Varennes  decree, 
318  Til. 

Necker,  Mile.,  6. 

Neuf,  Pont,  109. 

Neufour,  280. 

Neuilly,  Barrier  of,  211. 

Neuve   des    Mathurins,    Rue,    168 
and  n  ^. 

Neuville,  Mme. — 

25  and  n  \  30  and  n  ^  »,  32  n  \ 
35,  36  n  \  \  42  n  »,  46,  81  w,  82  n  \ 
88,  138,  141,  242,  268. 

Neuville,  Sieur  Pierre  Edme,  porter, 
25  n  2. 

Neuville-au-Pont,  65-6,  69,  131. 

Ney,  Marshal,  death  of,  264. 

Noailles,  Hdtel  de,  40. 

Noailles,  M.  de,  escorts  the  Queen 
to  the  Tuileries,  215,  216. 

Normand,   Dr.,   chase    of    Drouet, 
279,  281. 

Normand,     Mme.,     see     Mencke, 
Christine. 

Notre  Dame  de  I'Epine,  66,  166. 

Noyon,  288. 

Ogny,  Mme.,  156  n  K 

Orb6val,  58. 

Orchies,  294. 

Orleans,   M.  d',  views  the  return, 

214  n  \ 
Orsay,  Quai  d',  36  and  n  '. 
Orval,  Abbey  of,  305. 
Ostermann,  Comte  d',  45  n  \ 
Oatrogothie,  Due  d',  2  n  h  '^. 


Paooa,  Cardinal,  259-261. 

Palloy  (Patriot  Palloy),  313-15. 

Pamiers,  221. 

Pan,  Sieur  le,  23  n  \ 

Pantin,  118,  211. 

Pardoux,  M.  de  Saint,  41. 

Paris — 

Conduct  on  the  departure,  97-117, 
165,  172,  174;  invasion  of  the 
Tuileries,  101-10 ;  rumours  con- 
cerning the  flight,  165-7. 

Pavilion  de  Marsan,  102. 

Pellico,  Sj-lvio,  276. 

P6pini^re,  Rue  de  la,  20  n  '^. 

P^radon,  page,  23. 

Perpignan,    address    to  Varennes, 
317  n  2. 

Person,  136. 

P6tion,  M.  de- 
Appointed  Commissioner,  180-7 ; 
Voyage  de  P6tion,  181  n  i, 
199  n  2,  \  201  n  i,  209  n  ^  214  n  i, 
216  71  ^ ;  escorts  the  royal  party, 
187;  and  Mme.  Elizabeth,  192- 
3,  200, 209, 216-17  ;  and  the  King, 
209-10. 

Petit,   postmaster    at  Meaux,   120 
and  n  ^  "^  130  n  ^ 

Petit  Chaintry,  le,  50. 

Petit,  Nicolas,  blacksmith,  50. 

Peiit  Temps,  the,  248  n  2. 

Petits  Augustins,  Rue  des,  168. 

Picard,    Fran9oi8,     postillion,     49, 
122. 

Picpus,  the  trench  of,  234. 

Pierry,  the  village  of,  162. 

Pierson,  Sieur,  319  n. 

Pius  VI.,  Pope,  burial,  251. 

Pius  Vn.,  Pope— 

Radet's  arrest  of,  252,  259-61 ; 
kindness  to  Radet,  265. 

Plaiet,  M. ,  of  Le  Mame,  155. 

Poincot,  Nicolas,  turnspit,  99  and 
n\ 

Polignac,  Monseigneur  de,  204-5. 

Pons,  293. 

Ponsin,  Sieur  Josef,  78,  80,  319  n. 

Pont-de-Somme-Vesle,  47,   54  and 
n  2,  55,  56, 127,  132,  155, 226, 228. 

Pool  of  Rupt,  153. 

Porquet,  Abb6  le,  Histoire,  198  n  ^. 

Port-^-Binson,     hamlet     of,     186, 
187  71 1,  191. 

Praslin,  M.  de,  173. 

Pr6fontaine,  Jean  Baptiste,  73-75. 

Princes,  Cour  des,  34,  35  n  ^,  36  n  2, 
100,  102  ;  h6tel  de,  291. 


337 


INDEX 


Provence,    Comte    de,     see    Louis 

XVIII. 
Provence,   Mme.   la    Comtesse  de, 

26,  29,  32,  37,  38. 
Pultier,  tanner,  79,  82  and  n  2,  88, 

136. 
Pusy,  M.  Bureaux  de,  213-15. 
Puysdgur,  M.  de,  93. 

Quillet,  Sieur,  149  n  1. 
Quirinal,  the,  259,  261. 
Quotidienne,  the,  18  ?i,  283. 

Radet,  G6n6ral,  Baron  !6tienne— 
MSmoires,  85  n  \  238  n  1,  306  n  », 
323  n  1  ;  plans  for  the  King's 
escape,  93-96,  254-5  ;  condemna- 
tion of,  252  ;  personality,  252-4  ; 
position  in  Varennes,  253-4 ; 
arrival  of  the  King,  254 ;  the 
King's  charge  to,  255  and  n  ^ ; 
Adjutant-G6n6ral  for  Varennes, 
256-8  ;  arrest  of  the  Pope, 
259-61 ;  arrest  of  the  Due 
d'Angouleme,  263 ;  the  court- 
martial,  264-5 ;  return  to 
Varennes  and  death,  265-6 ; 
defence  of  Varennes,  322-3 ; 
see  also  Combier,  A.,  M^moires 
du  GinSral  Radet. 

Radet,  Mme.,  see  George,  Marie  Rose. 

Raigecourt,  M.  de,  77,  79  n  ^  81  w, 
230. 

Raillet,  Lieut.,  254. 

Rambluzin,  280. 

Ratantout,  hamlet  of,  145. 

Raulin,  Marguerite,  M6re  Drouet, 
267  n  \ 

Ravine,  M.  de  la,  121  n  1. 

Regnaud,  M.,  deputy,  112,  113,  173. 

R6gnier,      secretary,       reads     the 
memorial,  170-172. 

Regnier,  Sieur,  78,  79,  319  n. 

R6my,  M.— 
Narrative,  92  w  2,  144  w  S  302 
n  3,  \  303  n  2,  309  w  1,  %  3 . 
report  of,  142  and  n  '^ ;  ar- 
rested by  the  mob,  302 ;  sent 
on  to  Verdun,  309. 

Renard,  Sieur,  27  n  \  102  n. 

Renaud,  postillion,  68, 

Beutersvaerd,  M.,  291,  293-4. 

Rewbell,  317. 

Rheims,   the  rabble  from,  159-61, 
164. 

Richelieu,  Rue  de,  291. 

Rignon  (Count  Fersen),  13  and  n  \ 


Robech,  Abb6,  196  n  \ 

Robert,  Charles,  121  w  1. 

Roch,  Fran9ois,  20  n  ^. 

Rochambeau,  M.,  173. 

Roch^,  M.,  courier,  130  and  n  *. 

Rochechouart,  Mme.  de,  166. 

Rocherette,  see  Rochereuil. 

Rochereuil,  Mme.HortenseSellier — 
Betrays  M.  Antoinette,  17  n, 
18  w;  salary,  etc.,  19  w;  account 
of  the  Queen,  292,  293. 

Rochet,  engineer,  106. 

Rochet,  Mme.,  name  adopted  by 
Marie  Antoinette,  46. 

Rocheterie,  Maxime  de  la,  Histoire, 
1n\ 

Rohan,  H6tel  de,  162. 

Rohrig,  Lieut.  Leonard,  75,  81  w ; 
disappearance  of,  90,  311. 

Roland,  Mme.,  letter  to  Bancal, 
103  n  1,  2,  110. 

Roland,  Major  Jean  Francois,  91, 
95,  325. 

Rolland,  Sieur,  319  n. 

Rollot,  M.,  106. 

Romainvilliers,  killed,  294  n  ^. 

Romeuf ,  Jean  Louis — 

Escort  to  Lafayette,  103,  105  ; 
tracking  the  King,  106,  115, 
118-29;  account  of,  125  n^; 
overtakes  Bayon  at  Chalons, 
129  ;  at  Sainte-M6nehould,  131  ; 
Clermont,  133-4;  Varennes, 
135-8,  302 ;  the  meeting  with  the 
King,  139-40,  144;  Drouet's 
version,  275  n  ^  ;  arrest,  306 ;  set 
free,  309-10,  310  n  \ 

Ronsin,  saddler,  41. 

Rospigliosi  Palace,  the,  259. 

Rostaing,  M.  de,  173. 

Rouchet,  death  of,  234. 

Rougeville,  M.  de,  296-7  w. 

Rousseau,  222. 

Roussillon,  deputy,  176. 

Royal,  Pont,  20,  28,  36. 

Royale,  Cour,  102. 

Royale,  Mme. — 
The  flight,  31,  32,  34,  40;  nar- 
rative, 43  w  ^  49  w  ^  53,  54  w  3, 
69  n  \  73,  74  n,  76  n  \  126  n  ^  ; 
the  return,  189,  190,  209;  ex- 
changed for  Drouet,  278. 

Roze,  M.,  procureur  of  Ch&lons,  129, 
155,  157  and  n  \  164. 

Saint-Charles,  Sergeant,  89. 
Saint-Denis,  Barrier  of,  115. 


INDEX 


Saint-Dominique,  Rue,  181. 
Sainte-Anne,  Rue,  42. 
Sainte- Elizabeth,  prison  of,  274. 
Sainte-]6tienne,  203. 
Sainte-M6nehould,  47,  54 — 
The  stay  at,  58-66,  127  ;  Romeuf 
and  Bayon  reach,  131 ;  the  return 
through,  148-52  ;  the  hussars  at, 
227. 
Saint-Fargeau,  Le  Peltier,  167. 
Saint-Gengoux-le-Royal,  317  n  '^. 
Saint-Genoult,  323. 
Saint-Germain  I'Auxerrois,  176. 
Saint-Honor6,  Faubourg,  16  and  n  ^ 

116  ;  Rue,  27,  40. 
Saint-Jean-des-deux-Jumeaux,  203, 
Saint-Marcel,  Rue^des  Foss6s,  279. 
Saint-Martin,  FaubWrg,  20 ;  Barrier 

of,  42. 
Saint-Mihiel,   247  ;    Revolutionary 

tribunal,  258. 
Saint-Nicolas,  H6tel,  Clermont,  67, 

68  ;  Faubourg,  203. 
Saint-Ouen,  166. 
Saint-Priet,  Mme.  de,  166  n. 
Saint-Prix,  M.,22w^ 
Saint-Roch,  the  Varennois  lodged 

at,  316. 
Saint-Thomaa-du-Louvre,  237. 
Sanson,  223,  234,  236. 
Sapel,   Balthazar,    Count    Fersen's 
coachman,  20,  44  and  n  ^  ^,  287 
and  n  ^. 
Sauce,  Fran9ois  Clement,  239  and 

Sauce,   Genevieve,    deposition    of, 
239  «!. 

Sauce,  Jean  Baptiste,  p^re — 
Arrest  of  the  King,  79-89,  241  ; 
leads  Romeuf  to  Louis,  136  ;  house 
of,  137-8,  143,  238-9,  242,  250  w^  ; 
attempt  to  bum  the  papers  of 
Louis,  141-2,  142  7ii ;  accompanies 
the  berline  to  Clermont,  147 ; 
children  of,  239  and  n  i,  249 
and  n  ^,  250 ;  and  the  hussars, 
240-1  ;  personality,  242-3,  245  ; 
the  accusations  against,  246, 
320;  confounded  with  Drouet, 
248  and  n  ^;  attacked  by  the 
Germans,  249  ;  death  of,  250  and 
n  1 ;  return  to  Varennes,  306  ; 
reward  to,  318  and  n  ^  320. 

Sauce,  Jean  Baptiste,  Jils,  239  n  * ; 
arrest  by  the  Germans,  248. 

Sauce,  Jean  Baptiste  Felix  Auguste, 
239  and  n  i. 


Sauce,  Mme.  (Marie  Jeanne 
Fournel),  89,  141,  239  and  n  \ 
250  9i  1 ;  death  of,  248  and  n  '\  325. 

Sauce,  Marie  Anne  F^licitd,  239  n  ^ 

Sauce,  Victor  Scipion,  249  n  i. 

Saxe-Teschen,  Hotel  de,  296  n. 

Schelcher,  Andr^,  49  n  2,  66  n  ^ 
67  wi. 

Schliek,  Mme.  99. 

S^cillon,  M.  Chevalier  de,  265. 

S^gur,  Mile,  de,  153. 

SenHs,  106  aiid  n  2,  166,  288,  293. 

Sentier,  Rue  du,  18. 

S6ze,  Comte  de,  JSistoire,  121  n  \ 

201  Ti  3. 

S^ze,  MaJtre  de,  counsel,  74  n. 

Sign^mont,  Bigault  de,  92 — 

Secures  order  at  Varennes,  142  ; 
leads  the  procession  from  Cler- 
mont, 147  ;  command  of  the  mob, 
152  ;  death  of,  325. 

Silfersward  and  Count  Fersen, 
299  n  \ 

Simolin,  M.,  15  n,  45  n  K 

Siry,  Colonel,  260. 

SoleU  d'Or,  Sainte-M^nehould,  58, 
60,  63,  150,  151. 

Somme-Bionne,  131. 

Soumie,  M.  de,  146. 

Spamassiens,  the,  164  and  n  '. 

Sparre,  Comte  de,  5  n  ^. 

Spielberg,  273,  276,  277  n  K 

Stael,  M.,  Swedish  Ambassador,  6, 
16  w  2. 

Stegleman,  Mme.,  15  n,  45  n^. 

Stenay,  253. 

Stetten,  Baron  Ferdinand  de,  271-3. 

Strel,  Mile.,  duties,  25  and  n  ^  99. 

Subet,  Sieur,  149  n  \ 

Talleyrand,  M.  de,  8  n. 
Tapon,  Claude,  carrier,  166. 
Tar  tier,  Marie  Anne,  51. 
Taube,  Baron  de,  289  n  K 
Tausserat,  M.,  151  n  ^, 
Thennevin,  M.,  78,  80. 
Theresa,  Maria,  3. 
Thevenin,  Sieur,  319  n. 
Th^veny,  chemist  of  Chalons,  123, 

125,  129  and  n  \ 
Thibault,  Mme.,  29,  32,  37,  38. 
Thibert,  Sieur  Louis,  281. 
Thi6bault,  G^n^ral  Baron,  M^moires, 

101  n  1. 
Thierry,    Guide  du    Voyageur,  41; 

Ecuries  du  Boi,  104. 
Thionville,  256. 


339 


INDEX 


Thonnelles,  Chateau  de,  30  and  n  ^, 
227,  305. 

Thouret,  M.,  213. 

Thirn,  Monseigneur,  205. 

Tilleul,  Mme.  de,  297  n. 

Tilly,  de,  page,  7. 

Tiphaine,  M.,  mayor  of  Pantin,  119. 

Toulongeon,     M.,    180;    Histoirey 
199  n  \  '\  5^  219  n  ^. 

Tour — Maubourg,  M.  de  la,  115, 
292— 
Takes  the  military  oath,  173 ; 
appointed  commissioner,  180-7  ; 
escorts  the  royal  party,  187- 
218. 

Toumai,  294. 

Tourzel,  Mme.  de — 
M4moireSy  2&and  n  ^,  31  arid  n  ^-^, 
32  aiid  n  ^•\  33  and  n  \  34,  35, 
4:0  and  n^  42  w  ^  43  n  »,  46,  47, 
50,  51,  52  n  \  73,  76  n  %  80,  82, 
88, 154  n  \  157  n  \  158  n  \  187  n  \ 
195  n  2,  3^  201  and  w  ^  204  w  i ;  in 
Sauce's  house,  138,  242  ;  the  re- 
turn, 161  n  \  164,  189,  200, 
214  n  \  216. 

Tracy,  M.,  deputy,  173,  181. 

Traunvisser,  Charlotte  de,  126  n. 

Triancourt,  280. 

Trilport,  village  of,  203. 

Trompette,  Etienne,  102  n. 

Tronchet,  M.,  deputy,  177,  219. 

Troyes,  247. 

Truet,    Jean    Baptiste,    mayor    of 
Dormans,  194,  196  and  n  ^. 

Tuileries,  the — 

The  espionage  of  the  King,  22  et 
seq.  ;  plans  of,  in  1791,  24,  33; 
the  invasion  by  the  Parisians, 
101-10. 

Tuileries,  Quai  des,  40. 

Valence,  251. 
Valenciennes,  106  and  n  \ 
Vallee,Mlle.,  163. 
Vallet,  Gabriel,  51-2,  126. 
Vallet,  Mme.,  51-2. 
Valli^re,  Hotel  de  la,  40,  41. 
Valmy,  mill  of,  58 ;  battle  of,  257, 

323. 
Valori,  M.  de,  courier,  292. 
Valory,  M.  de — 

The  flight,  20,  26  and  n  3,  27  and 


w  ^  28  ;  outrider,  44  and  n  i,  45, 
46,  49,  50  and  n  \  56-8,  67,  68, 
70,  75,  76,  andn\  79,  80,  187  and 
n  1,  208  n  ^ ;  the  Queen's  anxiety 
for  his  safety,  207-8,  215-16. 

Varennes-en-Argonne — 

The  journey  arranged,  9,  14-21  ; 
the  King's  arrival,  70-96,  134; 
plan  of,  72  ;  Romeuf  and  Bayon 
reach,  135-40 ;  the  departure 
from,  143 ;  the  message  to  the 
Assembly,  179  ;  the  Grand  Mon- 
arque,  75-7,  79  n  \  230,  241; 
Louis  XVI's  house,  238  ;  critical 
position  of,  245,  256,  301,  321-3  ; 
the  national  resistance,  307-10 ; 
the  revolution  in,  310  ;  the  muni- 
cipal address  to,  317  n  ^  ;  deputa- 
tion to  Louis  XVIII,  324-5. 

Varennes-le-Grand,  317  n^. 

Vaublanc,  M^moires  sur  la  Edvolu- 
Hon,  235. 

Vauciennes,  164. 

Vauderlan,  166. 

Vaudreuil,  7. 

Vauriant,  Nicolas,  99. 

Vauthiers,  J.  B.,  267  w^ 

Vauthiers,  Louis,  286. 

Vautier,  Sergeant,  118. 

Vavincourt,  280. 

Verdun,  134,  212  ;  capitulation  of, 
256,  257,  322. 

Veyrat,  Sieur,  319  n. 

Vienne-la-Ville,  280. 

Viet,    postmaster  at   Chalons,   52, 
53,  126-9,  132,  313. 

Vieux-Maison,  49,  122. 

Vignon,  postmaster    at    Ferme-lc- 
Paris,  198  and  n'^. 

Villeparisis,  210. 

Villequier,  M.  de,  18  n,  33. 

Violet,  Sieur,  281. 

Vitry-le-Fran9ois,  51,  156,  161. 

Voidel,  M.,  212-13. 

Voltaire,  M.  de,  1-2. 

Wacquant,  P^re,  79. 

Wallon,  tables  of,  236. 

Weber,  M4moires,  116  n  ^  189  n  ^ 

192  wi,  217^2. 
Weimar,  Reichard,  Guide  du  Voy- 

ageur  in  Europe,  119  w  2. 
Welzien,  Lieut,  de,  248  n  2. 


THE    END 


R.  CLAY  AND  SONS,   LTD.,  BREAD  ST.   HILL,   E.G.,   AND  BUNGAY,  SUFFOLK. 


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